Ariana Grande’s newly-announced project will continue a tradition that was established by Michael Jackson decades ago and has been upheld by other major stars like Taylor Swift.

Ariana Grande’s career has certainly been one to watch. After gaining notoriety early on with shows like Victorious and Sam & Cat, Grande rocketed to fame with her incredibly successful musical career.

Of course, recently, Grande’s stardom grew that much more as she played Glinda in the musical movie phenomenon Wicked. Wicked: For Good (also referred to as Wicked: Part Two) is just around the corner, with a November 26th, 2025, release date, but Grande hasn’t lost sight of her musical career, either. A new musical project by Ariana Grande is releasing in just one week, and it will link her with some of the greatest musicians of all time.

Ariana Grande Is Releasing A Short Film For Eternal Sunshine Deluxe

“Brighter Days Ahead” Will Be Released As A Short Film

On March 8th, 2025, Ariana Grande announced that she will be releasing a deluxe version of her 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine, on March 28th. However, this wasn’t the only major announcement Grand made that week. Just a few days later, she announced a much more surprising bit of news pertaining to the re-release. In addition to the deluxe version of the album, Grande will be releasing a short film, titled “Brighter Days Ahead” (also the subtitle for the deluxe release) on the same day.

Grande made the announcement on her Instagram page, although even in her post, the project remained fairly mysterious. The post received plenty of attention and excitement, and, although Eternal Sunshine admittedly isn’t largely considered one of Ariana Grande’s best albums, anticipation for this brand-new project is high. In addition to this being thrilling news for Grande and fans of her music, though, this also means Grande is continuing a tradition that began with Michael Jackson.

Grande’s New Project Already Evokes Michael Jackson’s Short Films

Michael Jackson Fundamentally Changed Music Videos

It’s difficult to even put into words how massive an influence Michael Jackson had on the music industry. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians of all time, but, in addition to being beloved and incredibly successful, Jackson really did change the music industry forever. One such way Jackson did so was through his ‘short films,’ which is what he called his music videos. So much more than just a change in name, though, these short films that Jackson created turned into a long-lasting change in the way music videos are viewed.

Jackson called these videos short films because he was as focused on the storytelling within the films as much as he was on the music. To Jackson, conveying a fully fleshed-out, compelling story was paramount, and that’s apparent in the stories he ended up weaving in these films. No doubt for that reason, many of Michael Jackson’s best short films continue to be hailed within the industry to this day. Clearly, this has also made an impact on other artists, as mega stars like Taylor Swift have continued this tradition in recent years.

Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” Short Film Proves It Still Works

This Was A Major Success For Swift

In 2021, Taylor Swift released her very own short film music video: All Too Well: The Short Film. “All Too Well” was already a very popular Taylor Swift song off of her Red album, and when she released the 10-minute version of the song (after teasing it and having fans beg her for it for years), she pulled off the incredible feat of making a 10-minute song a hit. She made the release all the more exciting by dropping this short film, which even received a limited theatrical release, thereby continuing this tradition laid down by Michael Jackson.

Anyone familiar with Swift’s work will know that it makes plenty of sense for Swift to follow in the footsteps of Jackson in this way. Like Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift is all about storytelling, and even in her songs that don’t get their own short films, it’s clear that she is invested in crafting a narrative. Particularly with a song like “All Too Well,” though, that already told such a heart-wrenching story, this move was a logical next step—and a very popular one.

Now, Ariana Grande is putting out a brand-new short film as well. Like “All Too Well,” it makes sense for Grande to make a short film in this case. As the title of the album Eternal Sunshine suggests, these songs are inspired by the movie The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This is therefore a perfect jumping-off point for Grande to create a short film. Although the details of “Brighter Days Ahead” remain excitingly under wraps, it’s delightful to see that Ariana Grande is continuing this tradition begun by Michael Jackson and furthered by artists like Taylor Swift.