The song is one of the standouts from ‘Eternal Sunshine Deluxe,’ which the singer released Friday
Just before she the bright pink world of Wicked last year, Ariana Grande briefly returned to pop to launch Eternal Sunshine. It was her official divorce album, an emotional statement on the seemingly turbulent end to her two-year marriage.
With the long rollout of Wicked and subsequent awards season that kept her in Galinda’s bubble for months, fans were surprised to see that her Eternal Sunshine era was not yet over, as she has previously hinted at last year. She returned this week with the Brighter Days Ahead deluxe, adding five new songs to the album.
The standout is “Twilight Zone,” a song named after a show Grande has referenced for Halloween and spoken effusively about in the past. This time Grande herself is in the zone, removed from a toxic situation and questioning her own reality. “Did I dream the whole thing?/Was I just a nightmare?” she wonders in the opening lines. As it unfolds, she tells a story of deception, saying her ex should win “best actor” and wondering if his new partner realizes what she’s gotten into.
The chorus is sleek, mid-tempo pop perfection thanks to her ongoing partnership and songwriting chemistry with Max Martin. On “Twilight Zone,” Grande isn’t being vague about the intentions or subject of the song. On the second verse she wonders aloud: “Why do I still protect you?/Pretend these songs aren’t about you/Hope this might be the last one/’Cause I’m not foolin’ anyone.”
While it has felt at times that Eternal Sunshine has been drowned out by the gargantuan success of Wicked, the deluxe reminds everyone how it’s one of Grande’s strongest and most emotionally adept albums yet. And while she has hinted at focusing on acting for the foreseeable future, this collection certainly feels like a new beginning in her artistry that she hopefully doesn’t abandon for too long.
