<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Ariana Grande.Katia Temkin</p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album, "Eternal Sunshine," on Friday.</strong></li><li><strong>It doesn't meet the emotional bar set by her previous work, but the songs are fun and expertly made.</strong></li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ariana-grande">Ariana Grande</a> unleashed her seventh studio album, "Eternal Sunshine," on Friday.</p><p>The follow-up to Grande's breezy 2020 album "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ariana-grande-positions-review-tracklist-breakdown-2020-10">Positions</a>" is her first release since divorcing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ariana-grande-dalton-gomez-relationship-timeline">Dalton Gomez</a>. It takes its name from Michel Gondry's 2004 film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which follows two unlikely lovers in the midst of a painful breakup.</p><p>During an interview with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjVU8n_pGzw">Zach Sang</a>, Grande described the album's creation as unexpected and vital to her emotional journey.</p><p>"I didn't have the goal to make an album. I actually was really opposed to coming out with music until after 'Wicked,'" she explained. But when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wicked-director-filming-almost-finished-before-sag-actors-strike-1235539993/">the SAG-AFTRA strike interrupted the movie's filming schedule</a> last summer, Grande spontaneously returned to the studio.</p><p>"It all just started pouring out," she added. "I just decided to react and listen to that."</p><p>Grande also described "Eternal Sunshine" as "a lovely costume to wear," telling <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/hYAUKSqZ7HE?si=tP9ObJr2x3QE1fzK">Zane Lowe</a> that she pulled inspiration from characters and stories in addition to her own experiences.</p><p>As Business Insider's senior music reporter, I listened to the new album on my own, jotting down my initial thoughts track by track.</p><p>Here's what I thought of each song on "Eternal Sunshine" upon <a target="_blank" rel href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/first-listen"><u>first listen</u></a>. (Skip to the end to see the only songs worth listening to and the album's final score.)</p>