Revealing 5 hidden details behind Ariana Grande’s album “Eternal Sunshine”.
Inspired by a famous movie, the album “Eternal sunshine” is said to hide many “easter eggs” related to Ari’s love stories.
Inspired by the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Right from the album name, music listeners immediately think of the famous 2004 romantic-fantasy movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The film is about a couple who uses technology to erase memories of each other after breaking up, only to find they cannot live without each other and must find ways to retain the image of the person they love in their memory. In fact, Ariana confirmed the film’s influence on this “concept album,” calling it a reflection of her “spiritual, dream world.”
“I’m a huge Jim Carrey fan,” the 30-year-old pop star told Apple Music on March 7. “I think the movie is so popular because so many people can relate to feeling like something is wrong but loving so much, and choosing to stay,” she said. “This is a big inspiration for the songs on my album, you can see little signs behind the songs.”
In the MV “We Can’t Be Friends”, we see a waiting room scene exactly like the movie, where Ariana holds a box containing mementos of the two of them, filling out a form agreeing to erase her memory. She and co-star Evan Peters recreated notable scenes in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Memoirs of Mac Miller
While Ariana expressed admiration for Carrey and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it was also one of the late rapper Mac Miller’s favorite movies. In 2013, Mac shared on Complex:
“I love Jim Carrey when he’s serious. Whenever I talk to a girl, I always tell them to watch Eternal Sunshine. It cuts deep into the soul.”
Ariana and Mac dated from 2016-2018. The famous Pittsburgh rapper passed away in September 2018 at only 26 years old. Therefore, some fans believe that the album title is also a way for Ariana to remember Mac.
Mac Miller’s laugh in “Eternal Sunshine”
Ariana Grande and Mac Miller first collaborated on the song “The Way” (2013) as part of Ariana’s debut album “Yours Truly”. The song “Ghostin” from the album “Thank U, Next” (2019) is said to be about Ariana’s grief for Miller.
However, when it came to the album “Eternal Sunshine”, many fans recognized Mac Miller’s laugh at the beginning of the title song “Eternal Sunshine”, taken from a video Ariana recorded about Mac when the two were still dating. Knowing that “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is one of Mac Miller’s favorite movies, fans assume that the placement of this sound in this particular track was completely intentional.
“I can’t believe she put Mac’s laugh in this song,” TikTok user @maggielikescats wrote.
The album “Eternal sunshine” is said to be Ariana’s way of remembering rapper Mac Miller.
Revealing the marriage story with Dalton Gomez
Although it’s difficult to say how many of Ariana’s songs were inspired by her ex-husband Dalton Gomez, many lyrics indicate that Dalton once cheated on her. Specifically, in the first verse of “Don’t Wanna Break Up Again,” the third track on the album, Grande sings about being hurt and needing to pick herself up:
I fall asleep crying, you turn up the TV
You don’t wanna hear me
One more sleepless night
Big day in the morning
So, I take my time to self-soothe
Some fans believe that the line “Big day in the morning” refers to when Ariana Grande films the Wicked adaptation in London between 2022-2024. Ariana and Dalton filed for divorce in 2023, after two years of marriage.
What Ariana said about Ethan Slater’s cheating rumors
On the other hand, the song “True Story” is said to address rumors surrounding Ariana’s boyfriend and “Wicked” co-star, Ethan Slater. Ethan welcomed his son into the world in August 2022 with his wife Lilly Jay. Ariana and Ethan’s relationship timeline makes some people think that they were unfaithful to each other.
View this post on Instagram
Ariana told Apple Music 1 that, “True Story” is “a fictional story in which she plays the role of a “bad girl”. In the first verse, Ariana sings:
I’ll play the villain if you need me to
I know how this goes, yeah
I’ll be the one you pay to see, play the scene
Roll the cameras please
Although it has not been confirmed, Grande may be referring to having to “play the villain” that the tabloids have painted about her relationship with Ethan Slater. If so, “True Story” can be understood as Grande’s way of indirectly telling her story and speaking her truth.
