Album Cover // Republic Records
By: Sam Simons
Media Writer
Ariana Grande showed us that there are brighter days ahead with her deluxe album released March 28. Back on March 8, 2024, Grande released her seventh studio album “Eternal Sunshine”, and now she is lighting things back up with six new tracks for “Brighter Days Ahead”. She has also tapped into her filmmaking skills with a 26-minute short film of the same name, which visually takes the viewer through each of the new tracks.
The first new addition is an extended version of the first track on “Eternal Sunshine”, entitled “intro (end of the world).” The original was only 1 minute, 32 seconds, whereas the deluxe version is 2 minutes, 41 seconds long. In the extra time, Grande pours out even more emotions regarding her split from Dalton Gomez.
While “Brighter Days Ahead” has similar themes to “Eternal Sunshine” regarding Grande’s divorce and the drama that followed her new relationship with “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, the deluxe shows her healing journey. In the extended version of “intro (end of the world),” she explains that despite everything she went through, she has grieved this loss and now “un-needs” her ex husband.
Grande enters the “twilight zone” in track two, which focuses on the collapse of her marriage. While she makes it clear that she does miss her ex, she emotionally wonders if the relationship truly happened, almost feeling like it was simply an episode of “The Twilight Zone.”
The subsequent tracks have more positive undertones and reflect the sounds of Grande’s past eras as well as a brighter outlook on life.
In “warm”, she quite literally feels warmer in the presence of a new lover. She also asks, “Can you hold the space I require?” Then, in “dandelion”, she plays on the metaphor – or rather innuendo – of blowing a dandelion to grant your wishes. Next, in “past life”, Grande simply states that she is leaving her past love in a past life.
Finally, in “Hampstead”, Grande remarks on the chaotic year she has had. The title of this track refers to where she lived in London while filming “Wicked.” Grande has endured plenty of criticism since “Eternal Sunshine”, but with this track, she closes the door on it for good.
Grande is no stranger to being criticized for her personality, especially her dating history. While the situation isn’t entirely squeaky clean on her end, when word spread about her relationship with Slater, all the blame and negativity were targeted toward her. However, both albums show Grande’s point of view and that there is more to her than what the media portrays.
“Brighter Days Ahead” is for those who lost their sparkle back when “Eternal Sunshine” came out, and it shows just how much Grande has grown and healed since the latter album.
Love her or hate her, Ariana Grande has had a huge impact on the music industry and has paved the way for multiple artists – thus, you could say, creating brighter days for them.
