What's The Real Meaning Of Eternal Sunshine By Ariana Grande?

O ye Arianators, the queen is back and a new era is upon us! After a four-year break, Ariana Grande is back with another masterpiece, her seventh studio album titled "Eternal Sunshine." Grande first hinted at the album after sharing snippets of herself in the studio in December 2023. "See you next year," she captioned the Instagram post. In January 2024, the album's first single, "Yes, And?" was released alongside its music video. Unsurprisingly, "Yes, And?" was well-received, with the track going on to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Ahead of the album's full release, Grande sat for a conversation with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, giving insight into how the album came to be. "I've loved every minute of making this album — the videos, rehearsing, putting the roll-out together, doing the photoshoots, every single part of it," the "Side to Side" singer explained. "More than ever before in my life, I've been able to be so much more present and enjoy it and savor it this time in a way that I don't think I was able to before." 

In "Eternal Sunshine," Grande explores different themes of love and heartbreak. With a bittersweet approach, the singer takes fans through a journey, proving that though painful, love can be worth it sometimes. But while each track holds a different meaning, many can't help but wonder what "Eternal Sunshine" — the titular track truly means.

If lyrics are anything to go by, Ariana Grande might have recently experienced a painful betrayal as hinted in "Eternal Sunshine." The fifth track on the album opens with Grande admitting she and the subject matter, presumably an ex, were a wrong match. "I don't care what people say / We both know I couldn't change you / I guess you could say the same / Can't rearrange truth," she sings (via Genius). In the next couple of lines, Grande mentioned some of her ex's wrongdoings, singing, "I've never seen someone lie like you do / So much, even you start to think it's true."

In the pre-chorus, Grande delves deeper into her issues with her ex, hinting that he might have cheated on her. "So now we play our separate scenes / Now, now she's in my bed, mm-mm, layin' on your chest / Now I'm in my head, wonderin' how it ends," she sings before going on to the chorus where she doubles down on the cheating allegation. "Hope you feel alright when you're in her," she wrote in the chorus. Expectedly, the betrayal leaves Grande devastated, with the singer admitting to getting played and feeling sorry for herself after giving her all to the relationship. "I showed you all my demons, all my lies / Yet you played me like Atari / Now it's like I'm lookin' in the mirror," she sang.

Despite the hurt and disappointment from her ex's betrayal, Ariana Grande attempts to put it all behind her. "So I try to wipe my mind / Just so I feel less insane," she sings in the second verse. But when Grande thinks of the possibilities of what could have been between her and her ex-lover, it hurts even more. So, instead, she hopes to forget it all. "Rather feel painless / I'd rather forget than know, know for sure / What we could've fought through behind this door, mm / So I close it and move, yeah, yeah," she adds in the second verse. In the second verse, Grande is believed to have also referenced the 2004 film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," where memory erasing was a major theme.

Though no names were mentioned on the track, fans seem to believe "Eternal Sunshine" hints at details from Grande's divorce from her ex-husband Dalton Gomez whom she married in May 2021. "Imagine cheating on Ariana Grande? Dalton Gomez you will pay for what you did...eternal sunshine is amazing," one user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "And on that note.......Dalton Gomez, you better watch out 'cause I don't play bout Miss Ariana Grande," another fan tweeted. 

While unsaid, many believe "Eternal Sunshine" is another step in Grande's healing journey as she looks forward to better times — in love and in life.