Brighter days are ahead for Arianators after the pop-powerhouse Ariana Grande announced her break from a seven-year-hiatus. Fans can finally look forward to Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour set to take place in the summer of 2026.
Grande has been wicked busy. Between r.e.m. beauty, her makeup and skincare brand, and filming for the “Wicked” franchise, she has maintained her 12-year popstar status and found a way to slip in this mini-tour. Grande’s tour takes her across the United States but will also include stops in Montreal and London. New Yorkers will give Grande a warm welcome for four July concerts at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, making it one of the longer stops on the tour.
“feeling ! so ! excited ! and moved !!!!!!! by your excitement” wrote Grande in an emotional Instagram story. “thank you and love you sm.” It’s been seven years since her previous tour, the Sweetener World Tour, concluded, and fans have been eagerly waiting for the “7 rings” singer to return to the main stage. The Eternal Sunshine Tour takes on the title of her most recent album release, “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead,” as well as the complementary short film with the same subtitle. What remains a mystery is if this will be a two-album tour.
In an interview with Zane Lowe to promote her 2020 album “Positions,” Grande had confirmed that she likes the idea of a two-album tour. Her previous World Tour featured songs from her two most recent albums at the time, “thank u, next” (2019) and “Sweetener” (2018). While Grande has not mentioned it, “Positions” has not had its time to shine on stage and could potentially be featured on this tour.
“eternal sunshine” features influences of dance, synth-pop, and house music with the occasional appearance of orchestral instrumentals — notably the lively strings in the track “bye” and the rich brass in “ordinary things (feat. Nonna).” The release of the “eternal sunshine” singles “yes, and?” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” crowned Grande as one of two female artists to have the most Number 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 100. Grande is currently tied with Taylor Swift, both having seven entries.
The expanded album, “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead,” included an extended version of the album’s first song, “intro (end of the world),” as well as five other brand new additions to the original body of work, one fittingly titled “dandelion,” the University’s official flower. The album also pays homage to the 2004 film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet and directed by Michel Gondry. Paralleling the plot of Gondry’s movie, Grande’s music video for “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” delves into the concept of memory erasure as a solution for a traumatic romantic dissolution.
Grande’s most recent performances of her newest music include a series of live performances of both “eternal sunshine” and “Positions,” available on her official YouTube channel. Grande also performed at the 2024 Met Gala, however it was an exclusive show for invited guests. That select setlist included the three singles released from “eternal sunshine”: “the boy is mine,” “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” and “yes, and?”.
Arianators anxiously await presale ticket sales opening this Tuesday for North America and Sept. 16 for London. Fans have been quoted in Reddit’s r/popheads saying, “To those getting tickets, may the odds be ever in your favor,” and, “This’ll be the best early birthday gift if I manage to get tickets.” Due to the venue, capacity is more limited than a world tour such as Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour or Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour, making selling out likely to happen quickly for the Eternal Sunshine Tour.
“I think my fans know that music and being on stage will always be a part of my life,” Grande said in an interview with Variety in 2024. While Grande has remained popular off stage, fans will be eternally grateful when she begins her tour June 6, in Oakland, C.A.
