Focus (song)

Last updated
"Focus"
Focus cover art.png
Single by Ariana Grande
ReleasedOctober 30, 2015 (2015-10-30)
Format
Recorded
Length3:31
Label Republic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Martin
  • Ilya
Ariana Grande singles chronology
"E Più Ti Penso"
(2015)
"Focus"
(2015)
"Boys Like You"
(2015)
Music video
"Focus" on YouTube

"Focus" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on October 30, 2015 on Republic Records, and was originally intended to be the opening track as well as the lead single off Grande's third studio album, Dangerous Woman . "Dangerous Woman" replaced it as the lead single; the song was later removed from the standard-edition track listing, and was included as a bonus track on the album's Japanese version. The song was written by Grande, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson and its producers, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin. "Focus" features horns (saxophone, trumpet and trombone), with cowbells and handclaps as percussion. It was noted as musically similar to Grande's 2014 song, "Problem".

Ariana Grande American singer, songwriter and actress

Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. A multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her wide vocal range, which critics have often compared to that of Mariah Carey. Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Grande began her career in 2008 in the Broadway musical, 13. She rose to prominence for her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series, Victorious (2010–2013) and in its spin-off, Sam & Cat (2013–2014). As she grew interested in pursuing a music career, Grande recorded songs for the soundtrack of Victorious and signed with Republic Records in 2011 after the label's executives discovered videos of her covering songs that she uploaded onto YouTube. She released her debut album, Yours Truly, in 2013. A 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B album, it debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and spawned her first US top-ten single, "The Way", featuring rapper Mac Miller.

Republic Records record label, division of Universal Music Group

Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an imprint of the Universal/Motown Records Group, and was renamed Universal Republic Records after a reorganization in 2006 before reverting to its original name in 2012.

<i>Dangerous Woman</i> 2016 studio album by Ariana Grande

Dangerous Woman is the third studio album by American singer Ariana Grande, released by Republic Records on May 20, 2016. The album is the follow-up to her second studio album My Everything (2014), and features guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Macy Gray and Future. The album was originally called Moonlight after the opening track on the album, with the song "Focus" being the intended lead single. However, the album's name was later changed to Dangerous Woman, with "Focus" being removed from the album's standard track listing, though it remains as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. Dangerous Woman is primarily a pop and R&B album, with influences of dance-pop, disco, house, trap, and reggae genres. Grande, Max Martin, and Savan Kotecha were the album's executive producers.

Contents

The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Some praised Grande's vocals and the song's brassy production, and others criticized its similarity to "Problem". "Focus" debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, with 113,000 downloads in its first week. It was Grande's sixth top-ten single, and her first unaccompanied by another artist. The song also reached the top ten in Canada, Australia, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. By January 2016, "Focus" sold 544,000 copies in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Music journalism journalism genre

Music journalism is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on what is now regarded as classical music. In the 1960s, music journalism began more prominently covering popular music like rock and pop after the breakthrough of The Beatles. With the rise of the internet in the 2000s, music criticism developed an increasingly large online presence with music bloggers, aspiring music critics, and established critics supplementing print media online. Music journalism today includes reviews of songs, albums and live concerts, profiles of recording artists, and reporting of artist news and music events.

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play, and online streaming in the United States.

Recording Industry Association of America Trade organization representing the recording industry in the U.S.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States." The RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D.C.

Its music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, premiered on October 30, 2015 on Grande's Vevo channel. She performed "Focus" at the November 22 2015 American Music Awards and at the iHeart Radio Theater Los Angeles concert, and it was on the set list of the second leg of Grande's 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour.

Hannah Lux Davis American music video director

Hannah Lux Davis is an American music video, commercial and film director known for her work with artists such as Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Drake.

Vevo is an American multinational video hosting service founded on December 8, 2009, as a joint venture among three major record companies: Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and EMI. In August 2016, Warner Music Group (WMG), the third-largest record company, agreed to license premium videos from its artists onto Vevo.

Dangerous Woman Tour 2017 concert tour by Ariana Grande

The Dangerous Woman Tour was the third concert tour by American singer and actress Ariana Grande to promote her third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016). The tour began on February 3, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona, and ended on September 21, 2017 in Hong Kong. The tour was temporarily halted on May 22, 2017 by a terrorist bombing at the end of Grande's Manchester Arena show, which killed 22 concert-goers and injured 139. After organizing and performing at the One Love Manchester benefit concert, Grande resumed the tour on June 7, 2017.

Background and release

"Focus" was written by Grande, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson and its producers, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin. [1] Serban Ghenea mixed the song, aided by John Hands. [2] Grande began working on a new material for her third studio album in May 2015, posting details about the project on social media and in conversations with the public. The album was originally entitled Moonlight. [3] The singer posted an unfocused picture of herself on her Instagram page in July 2015 with the caption "Focus", calling it a "hint". A video released in September 2015 by iHeartMedia Music Summit demonstrated that Grande, Republic Records CEO Monte Lipman and her manager, Charlie Walk, played the song to the approval of the Republic Records staff. [4]

Savan Harish Kotecha is a multiple Grammy and Golden Globe nominated American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian descent.

Ilya Salmanzadeh, known mononymously as ILYA, is a Swedish Persian songwriter, producer and singer. He rose to prominence after co-writing and producing Ariana Grande's "Problem" and Jennifer Lopez's "First Love".

Max Martin

Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and singer. He rose to prominence in the second half of the 1990s after making a string of major hits such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), The Backstreet Boys's "I Want It That Way" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).

Grande announced the single during her September 15, 2015 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , with a release date of October 30. [5] She began posting snippets of the song's lyrics, video and audio previews and pixelated versions of the single's cover in early October on Instagram and Twitter, and unveiled "Focus"' cover art on October 14. A week before the song's release date, A 15-second snippet of the track was used in a commercial for Ari by Ariana Grande, the singer's debut fragrance, a week before the song's release. [6] "Focus" was digitally released worldwide on October 30, 2015, and was added to hot adult contemporary playlists in the United States on November 2.

<i>The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon</i> American late-night talk show

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon, on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incarnation of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise, with Fallon serving as the sixth host. The show also stars sidekick and announcer Steve Higgins and house band The Roots. The Tonight Show is produced by Katie Hockmeyer and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels. The show records from Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center, New York City. This was where The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was filmed until 1972.

Pixelation

In computer graphics, pixelation is caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible. Such an image is said to be pixelated.

Twitter Global micro-blogging Internet service

Twitter is an American online microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Tweets were originally restricted to 140 characters, but on November 7, 2017, this limit was doubled to 280 for all languages except Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. Users access Twitter through its website interface, through Short Message Service (SMS) or its mobile-device application software ("app"). Twitter, Inc. is based in San Francisco, California, and has more than 25 offices around the world.

Removal from Dangerous Woman

The song was originally intended to be the lead single of Grande's third studio album, Dangerous Woman (then entitled Moonlight). [7] Republic Records later told Billboard that the track had been removed from the album's standard edition, with "Dangerous Woman" replacing it as the lead single. [8] However, the song is a bonus track on the album's Japanese version. [9] [10] Vulture.com editor Dee Locket explained why "Focus" was not included on the album's final cut; the song's rollout was not "remembered as a success – it was calculated to a fault, too polished for a time when pop’s biggest stars, particularly its women, were letting their flaws bleed into the music." [11]

Dangerous Woman (song) Ariana Grande song

"Dangerous Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande, serving as the lead single for her third studio album of the same name (2016). It was written by Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan, and Max Martin. The recording was released as the first single from the album on March 11, 2016, the same date of the album's pre-order on iTunes Store. "Dangerous Woman" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B song, incorporating an arena rock chorus and a guitar solo during its bridge.

Music and lyrics

Jamie Foxx sings "Focus"' chorus. Jamie Foxx by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Jamie Foxx sings "Focus"' chorus.

According to sheet music published by Kobalt Music on Musicnotes.com, "Focus" was written in the key of G minor and set in 4
4
time
at a moderate tempo of 98 beats per minute. Grande's voice ranges from C4 to G5. [12] A retro-styled song, "Focus" is based on a 1970s-inspired dance beat. [13] [14] [15] [16] According to Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone , its instrumentation features "stabbing big-band brass" (with saxophone, trumpet and a trombone), smooth synths and clanging percussion with synthesized handclaps and a cowbell. [17] The song's horn foundation has been compared to Grande's 2014 single, "Problem" (featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea) from her album, My Everything . [18] [19] In an Entertainment Tonight interview, Grande acknowledged "Focus"' similarity to "Problem"; she thought the former would be the "perfect transition record" from her last album to her new album, because it sounds like "Problem 2.0". [20]

Lyrically, Grande asks for attention and focus. According to Idolator's Robbie Daw, the pre-chorus resembles the intro of KC and the Sunshine Band's 1975 disco song, "That's the Way (I Like It)". [15] [21] Marcus Floyd of Renowned for Sound wrote that in the second verse, Grande "addresses her haters and insists that they address her realness". [22] Its "funky" chorus consists of the repeated phrase, "Focus on me", sung by American actor Jamie Foxx in a bass voice. [23] Grande explained the hook:

When I say, "Focus on me", I'm not asking to be the center of attention. I'm not asking you to focus on my face or my clothes or my body or my singing voice. By "focus on me", I literally mean focus on me. Focus on what I'm all about and what I believe in. The more we focus on each other as people and not on what we look like, what we're wearing, our gender, our hairstyle, our sexuality, the color of our skin. But focus on each other on a soul level. The more we realize how much we have in common, the more we listen to each other, the more one we become. [24]

Critical reception

The song received mixed to negative reviews. Amy Davison from Digital Spy praised "Focus"' "sax-driven" beat; [25] The Verge 's Kaitlyn Tiffany called Grande a "massively talented vocalist", and "Focus" a "very pleasant" listen. [26] Time 's Nolan Feeney noted that although it was similar to "Problem", it may not have been a poor single decision. [27] On Renowned for Sound, Marcus Floyd called "Focus" predictably "catchy and attention grabbing"; the song ticks "all the boxes of an effective lead single." Giving it four out of five stars, he wrote that "Focus" is one of Grande's "stronger single releases" to date but did not "venture out" of her "comfort zone." [22] Steven J. Horowitz of Billboard gave the song two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that Grande had never released a "less-than-great" single until "Focus", which he considered a "weak" rehash of "Problem". [28]

In a negative review, a Time magazine writer called "Focus" the sixth-worst song of 2015, calling Grande’s vocal "dwarfed" by "too-big instrumentals" as it had been on "Problem" and "Break Free"; however, the latter two had a "sustaining energy" which "Focus" lacked. The singer needed a "tightly constructed, elegant hit" after her 2015 doughnut controversy, "and this isn’t it". [29] Although Brennan Carley of Spin called the song a "catchy slow-burn" and a "horn heavy piece of retro-modern fusion", Grande's vocals lacked "real excitement from a star who’s got the restraint and skill to take her instrument places most other pop singers can't anymore." Carley criticized the song's "male howling" for "[getting] grating quickly" and making "Focus" too similar to "Problem". [18]

Year-end lists

PublicationRankList
Stereogum 42The 50 Best Pop Songs Of 2015 [30]

Commercial performance

"Focus" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, selling 113,000 downloads in its first full week. Grande's sixth top-ten single and fourth top-ten debut on the chart. [31] It was her first solo top ten in the US, unaccompanied by another artist. [31] The song entered the Digital Songs chart at number five and was number 13 on the Streaming Songs chart, with 13.3 million domestic streams. [31] It fell to number 13 in its second week on the chart, rebounding to number 12 in its third week after Grande performed it at the 2015 American Music Awards. [32] By April 2018, "Focus" sold over 544,000 copies in the US and was certified platinum by the RIAA. [33] It debuted and peaked at number eight on the Canadian Hot 100, Grande's fifth Canadian top-ten single.

The song debuted at number ten on the Official Singles Chart in the United Kingdom, Grande's third top ten after the number-one singles "Problem" and "Bang Bang". [34] It peaked at number six in its third week, spending three weeks in the chart's top ten. "Focus" also reached the top ten in Australia, Austria, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. [35] [36] [37] [38]

Music video

Background and synopsis

Screenshot from the "Focus" video; according to Nick Maslow of People, Grande is in a "world of purple". Ariana Grande - Focus (Screenshot).png
Screenshot from the "Focus" video; according to Nick Maslow of People , Grande is in a "world of purple".

Hannah Lux Davis, who directed "Focus"' music video (released on October 30, 2015), also directed the music videos for Grande's "Love Me Harder" and the singer's joint single, "Bang Bang". [40] The video features the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. [41]

Grande then performs a choreographed routine with six backing dancers on a purple set. During the second verse, she smiles and poses in a square wearing a black mini dress and high Toni Basil-style boots. For the song's bridge, the singer (in a star-print leotard, photographed in black-and-white) lies on a neon-lit set, plays a trumpet and performs with her dancers. [42] The video ends with her right eye illuminated. Teen Vogue 's Ella Cerón noted its "slightly throwback" visuals, which match the song. [43]

Reception

Sean Fitz-Gerald of Vulture called the video's geometric look similar to the videos for Drake's "Hotline Bling" (2015) and Lil Mama's "Lip Gloss" (2007). [44] Billboard's staff ranked the music video for "Focus" as Grande's seventh-best, describing it as "out-of-this-world" with "star-emblazoned jumpsuits and neon wigs"; they compared the clip's aesthetic to the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) and Grande's dancing to Beyoncé's in the video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008). [45] The music video has received over 830 million views on YouTube, becoming her fifth most-viewed upload on the site.

Live performances

Grande performed "Focus" live for the first time on the Honda Stage at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles on October 30, 2015. [46] She also performed the song at the 2015 American Music Awards on November 22, ranked by Billboard as the best performance of the night. [47] According to Bruna Nessif of E! , Grande brought some "old Hollywood glamour" to the performance. [48] Grande performed "Focus" and a cover of ”Merry Christmas (War is Over)” on Disney's Christmas Day special, [49] and the song was added to the set list for the second leg of Grande's 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour.

Track listing

Digital download [50]
No.TitleLength
1."Focus"3:31
Japanese CD maxi single [51]
No.TitleLength
1."Focus"3:31
2."Focus" ( karaoke version)3:31
3."Extra" ("Message in Japanese from Ariana")0:40

Release formats

The Japanese CD maxi single set includes:

Regular edition [51]
Deluxe and limited edition [52]

Credits and personnel

Recording

Management

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Focus (CD Single). [2]

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA) [94] Platinum70,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [95] Diamond160,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [96] Gold40,000^
Italy (FIMI) [97] Platinum50,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png
Poland (ZPAV) [98] 2× Platinum40,000*
South Korea (Gaon)56,000 [99]
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [100] Gold20,000^
Sweden (GLF) [101] Platinum40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [102] Silver200,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png
United States (RIAA) [103] PlatinumDagger-14-plain.png1,000,000 [33]

^shipments figures based on certification alone
Double-dagger-14-plain.pngsales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Dagger-14-plain.png Since May 2013 RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads. [104]

Radio and release history

RegionDateFormatLabelCatalogRef.
United KingdomOctober 30, 2015 Digital download Republic None [50]
United StatesNovember 2, 2015 Hot adult contemporary radio [105]
November 3, 2015 Contemporary hit radio [106]
ItalyNovember 6, 2015 Universal [107]
JapanDecember 4, 2015 CD maxi single (Regular edition)UICU-5016 [51]
CD maxi single (Deluxe and limited edition)UICU-9081 [52]

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