"Intro (End of the World)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande from her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine. It was released by Republic Records as the album's opening track on March 8, 2024. Grande wrote and produced it with Shintaro Yasuda, Nick Lee, and Aaron Paris. The song's production puts emphasis on Grande's vocals over guitar strums, strings, and harmonies. The lyrics are about the doubts and anxieties of an uncertain relationship.
"Intro (End of the World)" was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, who commented on its significance as the album's opening track and praised the production. Commercially, the song peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 24 on the Billboard Global 200. It reached the top five in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, and charted in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Portugal, also receiving a gold certification in New Zealand. In October 2024, a live version was surprise-released as part of a deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine with an accompanying live performance video, which was part of a live series of the album.
Background and release
After the release of her sixth studio album, Positions (2020), Ariana Grande went on hiatus to pursue goals beyond music, such as portraying Glinda in the film Wicked (2024).[1] In September 2023, she started working on her next studio album, Eternal Sunshine, and conceived it as a collection of songs consisting of "different heightened pieces of the same story, of the same experience".[2][3] The album's lead single, "Yes, And?" was released on January 12, 2024, and the album itself was announced on January 17.[1][4] The single debuted at number one on the US BillboardHot 100, where it became Grande's eighth number-one song.[5]
Grande wrote the song "Intro (End of the World)" with Shintaro Yasuda, Nick Lee, and Aaron Paris.[6] According to Lee, it was conceived as a companion to Eternal Sunshine's closing track, "Ordinary Things".[7] On January 27, 2024, she revealed the first three songs in the album's tracklist, which includes "Intro (End of the World)" as the opening track.[5]Republic Records released it alongside Eternal Sunshine on March 8, 2024.[8][9] On October 1, a live version of the song became available without promotion as part of a deluxe edition of the album. A live performance video of it was also released concurrently, which was the first installment in a seven-part live series of Eternal Sunshine. The video is set in a faintly lit studio and features Grande wearing a cream-colored dress and eye decals and a 10-piece band consisting of a guitarist, a drummer, and a group of string players. They performed an orchestral rendition of the song with Grande including new vocal runs—Billboard's Hannah Dailey said that she adds "fresh emotion".[10][11]
Music and lyrics
"Intro (End of the World)" is 1 minute and 32 seconds long.[8] Grande produced the song with Yasuda, Lee, and Paris, the three of whom handled programming. Yasuda played keyboards, Lee played keyboards and trombone, and Paris played bass, guitar, synthesizer, and violin. Lou Carrao and Sam Holland engineered the track with assistance from Eric Eyland. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach with assistance from Bryce Bordone and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater.[6]
The production of "Intro (End of the World)" emphasizes on Grande's vocals.[12] The song begins with static sounds from a vinyl[13] and incorporates understated guitar strums,[14] soft strings,[15] and harmonies.[16] It also includes a trombone filtered through an effect that makes the horns create a "washy, vibey, wavy sound", according to Lee.[7] Grande's vocals are subtle and sensual throughout and escalate as they lead into the chorus, which features a violin.[12] Josiah Antonio from ABS-CBN News likened the production to Disney's theme songs.[17]Rolling Stone's writer Rob Sheffield believed the track contained influences from the Beatles' album Rubber Soul (1965) due to its "psychedelic murk".[18]
The song has lyrics about doubting a relationship.[19] Grande describes her resentment of the relationship and is unsure if she is in the right one: "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?"[20][21] The lyrics details a romance that has been slowly fading.[13] Grande expresses her anxieties regarding the interactions with her partner and the possible end of their relationship.[22] She lowers her vocal register when singing the lyric "If it all ended tomorrow, would I be the one on your mind?"[19] A few reviewers commented that "Ordinary Things" was an answer to the song's question whether Grande is with the right person.[a]
Reception
Critics received "Intro (End of the World)" with mostly positive reviews. There were comments about the song's significance as the opening track of Eternal Sunshine. Moses Jeanfrancois of Beats Per Minute and Kyle Denis of Billboard deemed it an effective opener for the album.[12][13] Tomás Mier of Rolling Stone said that the song sets much of the lyrical themes of Eternal Sunshine of "healing-from-a-breakup".[22] Brittany Spanos from the same publication believed that it was where Grande "gets the most intense feelings of heartbreak" on the album.[27] In a mixed review, Callie Ahlgrim from Business Insider thought the track "sneakily foreshadows" the themes of Eternal Sunshine but wrote that it would not work as a standalone song.[24]
The song's production was a subject of praise. Mier and Teen Vogue's editors Aiyana Ishmael and Honestine Fraser wrote that it was "dreamy".[22][28] In a ranking of Eternal Sunshine, Denis listed the song as tenth and said that it contained a "sense of imminent doom that warrants" a "flashy" title of "End of the World" and a vocal performance "equal parts cavalier and utterly distraught".[13]Sputnikmusic's staff picked the track as an example of one of the album's "subtle musical flourishes",[29] while Christian Allaire of Vogue said the production "kind of sounds the way a warm hug on a cold winter's day feels".[16]
"Intro (End of the World)" reached various countries worldwide and peaked at number 24 on the BillboardGlobal 200.[30] In the Philippines, the song peaked at number 4 on the Philippines Songs chart[31] and number 43 on the Philippines Hot 100,[32] where it placed 35th on the chart's year-end ranking.[33] The track peaked within the top five in the countries of Malaysia[34] and Singapore as well.[35] In the United States, the song debuted and peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it helped made Grande the female artist with the third most chart entries (85), tying with Beyoncé.[36][37] In New Zealand, it reached number 21 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart[38] and received a gold certification from the Recorded Music NZ.[39] Elsewhere, the song peaked at number 37 in Canada,[40] number 55 in Portugal,[41] number 71 in Australia,[42] and number 101 in France.[43] It also reached number 35 on Greece's Top 100 Digital Singles International chart.[44]
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Eternal Sunshine.[6]
Ariana Grande – lead vocals, songwriting, production, background vocals
^ ab"The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 25 March 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1777. Australian Recording Industry Association. March 25, 2024. p. 4.
^ ab"Top Singles (Week 11, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
