These are the Grammy categories Ariana Grande’s new ‘Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead’ can compete in
More than a year old at this point, Eternal Sunshine has solidified itself as an evolutionary step in Ariana Grande’s career. Not only did the album produce two No. 1 hits — "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" — and amassed more than 4 billion Spotify streams, but it’s perhaps Grande’s most confessional, being largely inspired by tumultuous times in her personal life and public persona as a whole. Eternal Sunshine had a largely positive reception, including a combined score of 84 on Metacritic. On Friday, Grande, now a huge movie star and Oscar nominee thanks to Wicked, broke the internet by dropping Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, a reconfigured version of the album featuring nine bonus tracks (including six new songs), alongside a short film.
Grande is credited as the sole lyricist of all new tracks, giving Brighter Days Ahead an even more confessional, introspective tone. The album opens with an extended version of her viral “Intro (End of the World)”, a fan-favorite that has now become a full-fledged hit. It also dives right into “Twilight Zone”, the lead single of the project that sees Grande reflecting on whether a past relationship was just a “nightmare” and a deeply disturbing illusion. This is the whole theme of the album, as the deluxe tracks seem to dig deeper into Grande’s traumas, as well as the remedial effect of her newfound relationship with Wicked costar Ethan Slater. Grande even references biographical elements, like with the closer “Hampstead”, named after the English town where Wicked was filmed.
The album was released with a short film, which features the new tracks with some fan-favorites from the standard edition like “Supernatural” and “Eternal Sunshine.” The film continues the story of Peaches, the protagonist introduced in the “We Can’t Be Friends” music video last year, but now as an elderly woman reviving her deepest and strangest memories one final time. Filled with stunning cinematography, some heart-warming archival footage from Grande’s family, and a Poor Things-inspired take on one of the songs nearing the end, the Brighter Days Ahead short film captures the essence of Eternal Sunshine: remembering hurts, but it’s the only way to move forward.
Reactions to both the film and the new songs have been overwhelmingly positive from fans and critics alike. In a four-star review, Rob Scheffield (Rolling Stone) writes: “Letting go is harder work than it seems, even when Grande’s turning her pain into music. But that’s what makes these songs — like the rest of Eternal Sunshine — reach so deep.” In a similarly positive review, Steven J. Horowitz (Variety) praises how the new songs coherently add value, stating that “Grande is in a dying breed of A-list musicians who value the art of album-making, and that much is clear by how aligned the six new songs are with the existing record.” Fan reaction is also very positive, with the new version rating 4.2 out of 5 on Musicboard and racking up myriad five-star reviews for the short film on Letterboxd. Users on our Gold Derby forum are also stunned by the record, with user QueenLana clamoring: “Give Ariana her Grammy for this album. Stunning work.”
Speaking of Grammys, this new material could put Grande back in a few races for the 2026 awards. Brighter Days Ahead is eligible for Best Music Film, and would be Grande’s first nomination in the category. Grande would follow the steps of other artists like Beyoncé and Thom Yorke in getting nominated specifically for a visual album rather than a concert film like most contemporary artists do. While she did miss an expected Best Music Video nomination last year, voters might want to make amends by nominating her here for the next Grammys. Grande could also submit an individual video from the film into Best Music Video, if she releases it separately on YouTube, similar to what Beyoncé did with “Formation” and the Lemonade visuals. If so, it’s likely to be “Hampstead”, as it is the most fully realized and includes practically the whole song, unlike the others which only feature excerpts.
While the deluxe album itself doesn’t have the 75 percent of new material required to compete again in Album of the Year and Pop Vocal Album, the new songs are all eligible in any category. The likely submission is lead single “Twilight Zone” for the general categories and Best Pop Solo Performance; but if Grande’s team wants to get creative they could try “Warm” in Dance Pop Recording. It’s unclear right now how much voters will support the album, as Eternal Sunshine underperformed with nominations last year. However, much has changed since Grammy voting last year to now, with her Wicked wave, and Wicked: For Good will be releasing amid voting, so there might be more hype this time around, especially as the new tracks rack up the streams and radio play.