Focus (song)

Background and release

Grande posted an unfocused picture of herself on Instagram in July 2015 with the caption "focus", stating it was a hint. Grande officially announced the single during her September 15, 2015 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and revealed that it would be released on October 30, 2015. Grande started revealing parts of the song's lyrics, video and audio previews of the song, as well as pixelated versions of the single's cover in early October through Instagram and Twitter. She revealed the official "Focus" single art cover on October 14, 2015. A week before its release date, a 15-second section of the track was used in a commercial for her debut fragrance, Ari by Ariana Grande.

Removal from Dangerous Woman

The song was originally intended to be the lead single from Dangerous Woman, Grande's 2016 album, which she first titled Moonlight. On Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January 2016, however, Grande revealed that she might re-title the album after another song on the album. She announced the new title of the album on February 22, 2016. Grande released the single "Dangerous Woman", on March 11, 2016, along with the pre-order of the album, with a partial track listing that did not include "Focus". Grande's record label, Republic, later confirmed to Billboard that "Focus" had been removed from the standard edition of the album, with "Dangerous Woman" replacing it as the lead single. However, it is included as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album.

Composition

According to Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone, "Focus" is "built on stabbing big-band brass, slick synths and clanging percussion". The song's structure has been heavily compared to Grande's previous lead single, "Problem", from her album My Everything. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Grande acknowledged its similarity with "Problem", stating that she thought this song was "the perfect transition record from the last album to the new album, because it sounds like 'Problem 2.0'". "Focus" features uncredited vocals from Jamie Foxx.

The song is written in the key of G♯ minor and follows a tempo of 100 beats per minute. Grande's vocals span from C♯₄ to G♯₅ in the song.

Critical reception

Kaitlyn Tiffany from The Verge said, "As Ariana Grande is a massively talented vocalist, the song 'Focus' itself is very pleasant to listen to". Brennan Carley of Spin commented that the song was a "catchy slow-burn", describing it as a "horn heavy piece of retro-modern fusion". He also said that Grande's vocals "[lacked] any real excitement from a star who’s got the restraint and skill to take her instrument places most other pop singers can't anymore". He criticized the "male howling the faux-chorus" for "[getting] grating quickly" and for making "Focus" too similar to Grande's previous lead single "Problem". Time's Nolan Feeney also said it was similar to "Problem", but said this might not be a bad thing: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it—no need for Grande to check her vision here".

Steven J. Horowitz and Alex Gale from Billboard rated the song two-and-a-half out of five stars, commenting "Dating back to her 2011 debut "Put Your Hearts Up," Grande has never released a less-than-great single, until now, with 'Focus', a rehash of 2014's 'Problem'." Time named "Focus" the sixth-worst song of 2015: "Grande needed a tightly constructed, elegant hit, and this isn't it."

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Focus" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's sixth top ten single (and fourth top ten debut), selling 113,000 copies in its first week. It became her first top 10 song in the US unaccompanied by a featured artist. The song fell to number 13 in its second week. As of March 2016, "Focus" had sold 425,000 copies in the United States and had been certified platinum by the RIAA.

"Focus" debuted at number 10 on the Official Singles Chart in the UK, marking it as Grande's third top 10 single in the country, following number one singles "Problem" and "Bang Bang".

Live performances

Grande performed the song live for the first time on the Honda Stage at the iHeartRadio Theater LA on October 30, 2015. She also performed "Focus" at the 2015 American Music Awards held on November 22, 2015, which was ranked by Billboard as the best performance of the night. Grande performed "Focus" along with a cover of "Zero to Hero" on Disney's Christmas Day Special.

Music video

Hannah Lux Davis directed the music video, which was released on October 29, 2015. She had previously directed the music videos for Grande's "Love Me Harder" and her joint single "Bang Bang". It features the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 throughout the music video. The video surpassed 100 million views on November 19, 2015, making it Grande's eighth Vevo-certified music video after "Baby I". By March 2017, the video had been viewed more than 670 million times on YouTube.

Synopsis

The video begins with video flashes of Grande in a two-piece outfit and platinum hair as shown in the single art cover. She makes several different poses while standing/dancing inside of a circular shape. The circle is meant to look like a camera lens and is one way of using the song title, "Focus". As the video progresses, Grande and numerous female background dancers perform multiple choreographed numbers, including the big bridge choreographed number halfway into the track. For this number, they wear matching outfits that are mostly black with white stars. The dancers have a different style of outfit, wearing starry pants. While still matching, Ariana's outfit is a starry bodysuit. The song progresses on and ends with Grande striking a final pose as the track ends.

Reception

Nick Maslow of People says, ""Focus" finds Grande in a world of purple – even the diva's locks are a shade of lavender, a look she teased on Instagram earlier this month." He goes on to say, "Grande embraces her sultry side for the clip, performing intense choreography and delivering flirty lines like, 'Just come and get it – let them say what they say.'" Michelle Geslani of Consequence of Sound praised the video as, "A groovy number from the get-go, it's highlighted by a massive chorus which couples the stylish attitude and busy percussion of tracks like "Bang Bang" and "Problem" with some urgent pleading that strangely enough reminds me of Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass".

Track listing

1. "Focus" – 3:31

1. "Focus"
2. "Focus" (karaoke version)
3. "Message in Japanese from Ariana"

Release formats

The Japanese CD maxi single set includes:

Certifications and sales

Since May 2013 RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.