Ariana Grande brings ‘eternal sunshine’ to rainy New York

As a cold rain came down outside, eager fans waited in line inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza in hopes of seeing Ariana Grande perform songs from her new album, “eternal sunshine” on “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, March 9.

Fans could get tickets to the performance through an online lottery or by waiting in line the day before for standby tickets. Alejandro Rivero and his friend, Kamryn Castro, waited in line outside for 9 hours on Friday, March 8. On average, only the first 80 people in line get into the show. Rivero and Castro were number 114 and 115 in the line but they were enthusiastic regardless.

“For [Grande], anything,” Rivero said. “We don’t know [that we will get in]. We just hope.”

Castro traveled from Connecticut to meet her friend in the city in hopes of seeing their long-time shared favorite artist. She noted that she and her friend have been fans “all their lives.”

This Saturday’s show marked Grande’s first televised performance since 2021. Her album, “eternal sunshine” is a concept album inspired by the 2004 film, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which follows a couple as they try to erase each other from their memories after the relationship has a tumultuous ending.

Grande spoke in an interview with Zach Sang about what drew her to name the album after the film.

“People hear it and think it’s so optimistic. That’s kind of the point is the irony of what it means,” Grande said. “Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is like ignorance is bliss … but it’s really sad. It’s selectively erasing certain things.”

“We want everyone to experience eternal sunshine, sure,” Grande said. “But it’s also the irony of it … because there’s a lot of pain in the album as well.”

Fans felt inspired to watch the film, which is set on Long Island, because of Grande’s connection to it.

“I watched the movie because of the album,” Rivero said. “I loved it. I’m so proud of her.”

On Friday, March 8, along with the release of her album, Grande released a music video for her song “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” which she says visually embodies the entire album. There are various direct connections between the music video and the film, including the main plot of the video being the erasure of memories of a past relationship. Fans were moved by her performance in the video, evoking strong emotions from them.

“It was so sad, again, I cried,” Castro said regarding when she watched the music video. Although she hasn’t seen the film herself, she said that from what she’s seen online, the connection to the album made her emotional.

Jason Kim, a junior television production and studies major, said that not only is this album his favorite of Grande’s, but the video and the concept feel deeply personal. Kim has a YouTube channel where he reviews and makes commentary on popular music with over 15 thousand subscribers.

“[The album] feels like a time capsule for where [Grande] is at in life, more so than any of her other albums,” Kim said. Regarding the music video, he said, “[Grande]’s acting in the one shot where she wakes up is insane. Her facial expressions throughout the entire video were so convincing. You can’t even hear what she’s saying in the moment, but you understand it and you feel it.”