“Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days are Ahead” Review

By Lucienne Burns | April 14, 2025

(Photo Credit: Pixabay)

Popstar Ariana Grande recently released the deluxe version of her album “Eternal Sunshine,” adding six new well-crafted and fitting songs to the original tracklist. 

Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead" officially debuted March 28, expanding the album to 19 tracks with a total runtime of 55 minutes. The newly added songs play into the album’s many different themes like love, grief, vulnerability, and healing. The album itself can be described as being several different genres, including synth pop, R&B, and dance. 

It draws inspiration from the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” a movie about forgetting and moving on after a breakup– a message Grande seems to resonate with throughout the album. 

“Intro (end of the world) - Extended” is track number 14 of the album, making it the first song of the deluxe. This song is not totally new– as noted by the title, it is an extended version of the existing opening track. This extension adds a new perspective to the song through new lyrics and layered, harmonic vocals. It gives the song more emotional depth and personality, making it a thoughtful addition to the album. It enforces a sense of clarity and moving on, tying the song's message to the overarching theme of the album.

“Twilight Zone,” Track 15 of the album, explores Grande’s conflicting feelings after a challenging breakup. She realizes the person she was with wasn’t who they claimed to be, but still acknowledges that everything happens for a reason. Along with the 80s-sounding synth background, Grande often utilizes layering vocals, and this song is no exception. The layers add a dream-like sound over the song’s beat, making it a satisfying listen. The 80s sounding synth is featured throughout the album as well in different songs, so it wasn’t unexpected, but a nice tune. I personally really appreciate incorporating the sounds of past decades into modern genres. 

Track 16 and 17, titled “Warm” and “Dandelion” are pretty contrastingly different from each other. “Warm” reminds me of many other tracks from the album, with a light, upbeat melody and harmonic vocal layering. It is a nice, easy listen, and I think it has a really valuable message about feeling empowered and strong by yourself while inviting in love that is supporting you rather than tearing you down. “Dandelion” is one of the more playful, R&B type songs on the album. It reminds me of the songs “The Boy is Mine” and “True Story” because of the edgier, more hip-hop style beat used. It also features a unique trumpet-sounding instrumental, different from what Grande typically uses. 

The next song on the album, Track 18,  is “Past Life,” which in my opinion is the best addition. I would describe it as a dramatic pop ballad. The song has its strong moments, while also having the beat taken away and letting layered vocals go alone. With the changes in dynamics, the song has tension and buildup, which leads to Grande being able to show off her strong vocals in the pre-chorus. Her vocals are so powerful here and convey so much emotion and depth that I felt was missing from some tracks on the deluxe album. I think this song is the perfect embodiment about overcoming struggles and leaving things behind. 

Track 19 is titled “Hampstead,” a reference to the town Grande lived in while filming the movie “Wicked.” This song was an excellent choice to close the album with. Beginning with soft piano chords, as it progresses, it grows and builds up to Grande’s strong vocals in the chorus. The song’s message seems to be very important to Grande, the theme of it being about what the public has bad to say about her current relationship and how they do not see everything that actually happens. 

Overall, I find these deluxe songs to embody the messages of the album well. Honestly, I don’t see why “Past Life” was not added to the original as I think it would fit in seamlessly and is to the same caliber as the songs that made the cut. 

While Ariana grande is an amazing artist, this deluxe album is not as groundbreaking as other recent deluxe releases. While the songs were all good, I still would rank other songs on the album above them. I think this could be due to songs not living up to overhyped expectations and the elements of the songs themselves. 

I personally prefer her songs that showcase her talent and her unique melodies, for example “Imperfect for You,” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).” My main issue with the deluxe is that I feel like some of these songs lacked the vocal and melodic depth that Grande is very capable of. But altogether, I would say a listen to the deluxe is still worth your time, and a solid addition to the original “Eternal Sunshine.”