Review Summary: Ari's Homewrecker Era
Eternal Sunshine is the moment Ariana Grande stops giving a sh*t. No stranger to controversy (see "racefishing" and the donut shop for more), Ari has been recently labeled by some as a 'homewrecker' following her divorce from Dalton Gomez and subsequent hookup with...SpongeBob Broadway star Ethan Slater? Girl's got an
interesting taste in men. The commotion stems from reports that Grande and Slater not only cheated on their spouses with each other, but double dated during the affair, which is...
bold if true. But it also stems from Ari seemingly embracing her new villain role, as was displayed on this album's tacitly unsettling lead single "Yes, And?" 'Why do you care so much whose d*ck I ride?' Grande challenges, with an almost Swiftian level of defiance and hostility.
This boldness pervades throughout much of the remainder of the album. Mid-stage cut "True Story" is a major disappointment with this in mind. The production absolutely goes off and Ari smashes every vocal flourish out of the God damn park. She again indirectly teases and responds to her critics by vowing to play the role of the villain ("And I'll be good in it too"). It makes you want to root for her, but you can't help but feel icky afterwards. If everything they say is true about her, then it's not the defiant girl-boss event she thinks it is.
Elsewhere, tracks like "Supernatural" are one-note, paint-by-numbers pop R&B romps. "Bye" glides on bouncy beats and plenty of sugary-to-the-point-of-cavities vocal showcases. The title track flops in its quest for a vulnerable intimacy. "Imperfect for You" is mildly antiquated from a composition standpoint. Nothing lyrically or artistically relevant is brought to the table. Every track is flowery, empty, and hyper-fixated on building an artificial aesthetic. It sounds a lot prettier than it actually is.
Eternal Sunshine is a waste of Ariana Grande's powerhouse talents, a million dollar production with ten-cent execution.
