Ariana Grande announces Eternal Sunshine deluxe edition Brighter Days Ahead with six new songs
Grande is treating fans to six previously unheard songs, as well as previously released remixes with Mariah Carey, Troye Sivan and more
By Gary Grimes
Fresh off the Wicked press tour finally coming to a close, culiminating in her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Ariana Grande has relieved pop fans everywhere with the announcement of new music.
Later this month will see the release of eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead, an expanded edition of her number one 2024 album. The LP, Grande’s seventh studio album, spawned two number one singles ‘yes, and?’ and ‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love)’, and the top 20 single ‘the boy is mine’.
brighter days ahead will be the fourth version of the album released, following on from external sunshine: slightly deluxe, surprised released by the artist two days after the standard edition of the album last year. This version included remixes of ‘yes and?’ featuring Mariah Carey, ‘supernatural’ featuring Troye Sivan, and acoustic and a cappella versions of ‘imperfect for you’ and ‘true story’ respectively.
A third version of the album, monikered slightly deluxe and live, included an additional remix of ‘the boy is mine’ featuring 90s icons Brandy and Monica, plus live versions of seven tracks on the album.
It’s understood that brighter days ahead will boast six new original songs, plus the aforementioned remixes with Carey, Sivan, Brandy and Monica. Little is known about the new songs, although the original album’s tracklisting saw the singer working almost exlusively with pop aficianado Max Martin and his frequent collaborator Ilya.
eternal sunshine, Grande’s first album since 2021’s positions, was met with warm reviews from critics, eventually going on to be nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the GRAMMYs. ‘yes, and?’ also received a nod for Best Dance Pop Recording, and ‘the boy is mine’ remix was nominated for ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’.
“Music and being on stage will always be a part of my life, but I don’t see it coming anytime soon” – Ariana Grande
The ‘thank u, next’ singer had previously instilled fear in her pop fans last year when she commented, in an interview with Variety, that she doesn’t foresee herself focusing on music again in the near future in order to concentrate on her fledgling acting career.
“I feel so grateful to the acting, and I think my fans know that music and being on stage will always be a part of my life, but I don’t see it coming anytime soon,” Grande said. “I think the next few years, hopefully we’ll be exploring different forms of art, and I think acting is feeling like home right now.”
“I am appreciative for [my fans’] understanding. I’m so grateful for the ways in which we’ve grown together over this whole journey with Wicked. But music will always be a part of my life.”
eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead by Ariana Grande will be released on 28 March.