Focus

Focus by Ariana Grande
General information
Artist	Ariana Grande
Release date	October 30, 2015
Recorded	May 5, 2015
Studio	MXM Studios & Wolf Cousins Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:31
Album	Dangerous Woman
Label	Republic Records
Songwriter(s)	Ariana Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Peter Svensson, Savan Kotecha
Producer(s)	Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin
s chronology
Previous	"E Più Ti Penso"
Current	"Focus"
Next	"Boys Like You"
Dangerous Woman track list
"Jason's Song (Gave It Away)"
"Focus"
Music video

"Focus" (originally titled "Focus On Me") is a single by Ariana Grande. It was released through Republic Records on October 30, 2015.

The song was supposed to be the lead single from Ariana's third album, Dangerous Woman (then entitled Moonlight), but it was removed from the standard edition of the album and only included on the Japanese edition, with the album's title track replacing it as the lead single. It debuted at #3 on the US iTunes Charts within an hour of release and peaked at #2 in 12 hours. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted and peaked at #7. The song also features uncredited vocals from American actor Jamie Foxx in the chorus.

Background

Grande worked on "Focus" through April and May, officially finishing the song on May 5, 2015. Grande posted a picture on Instagram on June 16, 2015 with the caption, "by 'focus' I meant 'focus on me' #thisisahint 💭 #youllsee 🌙🌛 ☕️ 🙊" On August 5, 2015, at iHeartMedia Music Summit it was confirmed that Grande would be releasing a new single in the "following weeks" called "Focus On Me." There was a video of Grande with Republic Records CEO Monte Lipman and Charlie Walk playing the song for the whole staff as she ran through Republic offices.

On September 2, 2015, Grande tweeted that the "Moonlight festivities" would be starting in October. She also said that she was excited about the "nearby future" and considered October to be the "nearby future". A fan also asked what was coming first, "Moonlight", "Focus On Me" or "Be Alright" to which Grande tweeted "focus comes first."

Grande announced that there would be a "big announcement" when she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. She went on the show on September 15, 2015, and announced the name of her new single to be "Focus" (rather than "Focus On Me") with a release date of October 30, 2015.

With 30 days until the release of "Focus," Grande shared the lyrics to the first verse of the song. She began sharing more lyrics throughout the countdown. On October 5, Grande posted a 6-second snippet of the song. She also posted several teasers on her brother Frankie dancing/singing to the song. On October 19, Grande tweeted a link to her website, showing the first fragrance commercial for ARI. In the video, the background music is a snippet of Focus.

Grande says the song is "just supposed to make you feel good and feel empowered."

Cover art

On August 25, 2015, Grande tweeted that she was working on something with her photographer and friend Alfredo Flores. She said they were really focused followed by saying, "suuuuuuuuuuuuper focused" which was a hint that they were shooting the cover artwork for "Focus." Grande confirmed a couple weeks later that Alfredo did shoot the cover. Alfredo wrote on his Instagram post "☀When an impromptu shoot in Jakarta turns into THISSSS! #16days #focus 📷" confirming that the artwork was shot in Jakarta.

With 20 days until the release of the song, Grande posted a pixelated picture of the cover artwork. Each day for the following week she posted a less pixelated picture of the cover art. Grande told fans that the cover would more revealing than the My Everything cover. She also told fans to look at her hairstylist's (Dalina Way's) Instagram for a hint, where a picture of a white bobby pin was posted (indicating she would have white /platinum white hair on the cover). Grande finally released the official cover on October 14.

Critical reception

Upon release, "Focus" received mixed reviews from music critics. Kaitlyn Tiffany from The Verge commented positively saying, "As Ariana Grande is a massively talented vocalist, the song "Focus" itself is very pleasant to listen to". Brennan Carley of Spin had a mixed opinion, commenting that the song was a "catchy slow-burn", describing it as a "horn-heavy piece of retro-modern fusion". However, he also noted 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 commented it for being similar to "Problem", but noted that this might not be a bad thing, saying: "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

"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". In the United States, "Focus" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's sixth top 10 single (and fourth top 10 debuts), selling 113,000 copies in its first week. With the release of "Focus", Grande became the first artist to have all lead singles from her first three albums debut in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition to that, it also became her first top 10 song in the US unaccompanied by another artist. The song fell to number 13 in its second week. It spent thirteen weeks on the chart, which is significantly less than the chart longevity of Grande's previous lead single, "Problem" from My Everything (2014), which spent sixteen consecutive weeks in the Top 10 alone.

Live performances

Grande performed this song live for the first time on October 30 (the day of its release) at her iHeartRadio Halloween Concert.

Grande performed the song on the 2015 American Music Awards for the first time on television. She also performed it on New Year's Eve at a private concert in Las Vegas.

Music video

The music video was filmed on September 13, 2015. It was released on October 30, 2015, the same day as the song. The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis.

Brian and Scott Nicholson and Boy Boi choreographed the video.

Trivia

• Grande said she feels like "Focus" is "Problem"s older sister, so she felt that was a perfect way to transition from the sound of the previous album to the new one.

Gallery

“deep breaths, tight chest, life, death” To view the Focus gallery, click here.

Photo shoot

Unedited picture

Unedited picture

Lyrics

[Intro: Ariana Grande]
Hey

[Verse 1: Ariana Grande]
I know what I came to do
And that ain't gonna change
So go ahead and talk your talk
Cause I won't take the bait

[Refrain 1: Ariana Grande]
I'm over here doin' what I like
I'm over here workin' day and night
And if my real ain't real enough
I'm sorry for ya, bae

[Pre-Chorus: Ariana Grande]
Let's find a light inside our universe now
Where ain't nobody keep on holdin' us down
Just come and get it, let them say what they say
Cause I'm about to put them all away (Woo!)

[Chorus: Jamie Foxx & Ariana Grande]
Focus on me, fuh-fuh, focus on me (Woo!)
Focus on me, fuh-fuh, focus on me (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!)

[Verse 2: Ariana Grande]
I can tell you're curious
It's written on your lips
Ain't no need to hold it back
Go head and talk your shit (Hey, hey)

[Refrain 2: Ariana Grande]
I know you're hoping that I'll react (Nai)
I know you're hoping that I'm looking back
But if my real ain't real enough
Then I don't know what is, hey, yeah

[Pre-Chorus: Ariana Grande]
Let's find a light inside our universe now (Oh, yeah)
Where ain't nobody keep on holdin' us down (They don't keep on holdin' us down)
Just come and get it, let them say what they say (Ooooo-woah)
Cause I'm about to put (Them all away) (Woo!)

[Chorus: Jamie Foxx & Ariana Grande]
Focus on me (Hey), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Baby) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Oooooh), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (So focus on me, baby) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Focus on me, bae) (Woo!)

[Breakdown: Ariana Grande]
One, two, three
C'mon girls (Uh, hey)
You know I like it (Uh, hey)
Ba-da-da-da-ba-da-da-da-da-daaaaa
Focus on me (Uh)
C'mon now (Now!)
Focus on me (Uh)
Oooooh, yeah!

[Pre-Chorus: Ariana Grande]
Let's find a light inside our universe now (So let's find lights)
Where ain't nobody keep on holdin' us down (They don't keep on holdin' us down)
Just come and get it, let them say what they say (Let them say yeah, say yeah)
Cause I'm about to put them all away (Yeah!)

[Chorus: Jamie Foxx & Ariana Grande]
Focus on me (Woo), fuh-fuh (Hey), focus on me (You know I like it when you focus on me) (Woo!)
Focus on me, fuh-fuh (Focus on me), focus on me (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh (Nooooh, yeah), focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!) (Now)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh (Naaaaaaai, bae), focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!)

[Outro: Jamie Foxx & Ariana Grande]
Focus on me, fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Oooooh, bae), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Ooh, boy) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Woo!)
Focus on me (Focus), fuh-fuh, focus on me (Focus on me) (Focus on me, bae) (Woo!)