Ariana Grande’s seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine has arrived—and it did so much sooner than she expected.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter confirmed this during a recent appearance on the Zach Sang Show, saying her newly released project came together in a surprising way.
“I don’t know,” she said when asked why she decided to put on an album now. “I did not plan to. I didn’t have the goal to make an album. I actually was really opposed to coming out with music until after Wicked—either both parts or just the one part. I wasn’t sure how I would feel.”
She said that all changed once the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike caused production on the Wicked screen adaptation to come to a halt. Ariana explained that the free time allowed her to go to New York City and have some “fun” in the recording studio, where she was later joined by the legendary producer Max Martin.
“As soon as the strike began, I came to New York,” the 30-year-old said. “Max Martin came to New York to spend a week with me at Jungle City Studios and it all just kind of started pouring out. After our first week together, I kept coming to the studio every day by myself and it just kind of kept organically happening that way.”
She continued, "I wrote [the songs] when I was very emotional, some of them, and then some of them are more, you know, bops that are more fun. But, actually, even some of the bops I cried writing. ... The thing that was beautiful about it is—I was writing it with no intention for the world to hear it.”
On Feb. 27, Ariana returned to Instagram to unveil Eternal Sunshine’s official tracklist. She handled the 13-song project without any big-name features; in fact, the only credited guest appearance was her grandma, who appears on “Ordinary Things.” Other titles include “Don’t Wanna Break Up Again,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “I Wish I Hated You,” as well as the previously heard singles “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).”
Eternal Sunshine arrives more than three years after Ariana unleashed her fifth studio album, Positions. You can stream the new effort now on all major platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.
