In addition to that, it also became her first top 10 song in the US unaccompanied by another artist. 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 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. "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". 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 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". He criticized the "male howling the faux-chorus" for " grating quickly" and for making "Focus" too similar to Grande's previous lead single " Problem". However, he also noted that Grande's vocals " 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". 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". 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". Upon release, "Focus" received mixed reviews from music critics. Grande finally released the official cover on October 14. She also told fans to look at her hairstylist 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 told fans that the cover would more revealing than the My Everything cover. Each day for the following week she posted a less pixelated picture of the cover art. With 20 days until the release of the song, Grande posted a pixelated picture of the cover artwork. 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. 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 of weeks later that Alfredo did shoot the cover. On August 25, 2015, Grande tweeted that she was working on something with her photographer and friend Alfredo Flores. Grande says the song is "just supposed to make you feel good and feel empowered." Cover art In the video, the background music is a snippet of Focus. On October 19, Grande tweeted a link to her website, showing the first fragrance commercial for ARI. She also posted several teasers on her brother Frankie dancing/singing to the song. On October 5, Grande posted a 6-second snippet of the song. She began sharing more lyrics throughout the countdown. With 30 days until the release of "Focus," Grande shared the lyrics to the first verse of the song. 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. Grande announced that there would be a "big announcement" when she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. A fan also asked what was coming first, " Moonlight", "Focus On Me" or " Be Alright" to which Grande tweeted "focus comes first." She also said that she was excited about the "nearby future" and considered October to be the "nearby future". On September 2, 2015, Grande tweeted that the "Moonlight festivities" would be starting in October. Grande posted a picture on Instagram on Jwith 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. Grande worked on "Focus" through April and May, officially finishing the song on May 5, 2015.
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