Idolator slams Ariana's Focus!

[Versace 7,513]

7 from Me 

The song is good for it's throwback 2000's vibe that we've been missing this is easily seen in the verses and the beautiful Pre-Chorus it's just the bad chorus and the boring bridge that makes the song a hot mess. It would have helped if the video was a bit more original not a combo of G.U.Y/Sparks by Hilary /Neon Lights by Demi looks.  

Overall it's just a meh attempt at Problem 2.0.

I was truly slayed by her My Everything Era , Problem was one of the best songs of 2014

i hope Moonlight does not disappoint  

[Poope MOnster 1,446]

7/10 

it fun song but ari screeching voice make me feel a little tired

[PrinceGaga 7,246]

The chorus...

 

[Noah 25,999]

Robbie Daw — 4/10

What direction does Ariana Grande want to be going at this point in her career? That’s not quite clear. One would have hoped, three albums in, there would be something deeper up her sleeve than “Focus” is offering. We shall see.
 

I agree. 

I really fear that she'll be lacking uniqueness this record. I thought 'Yours Truly' was something different, with standout tracks like 'Honeymoon Avenue' or 'Tattoed Heart' she really showcased her talent. The whole Album was basically perfection. 'My Everything' on the other side, had some great commercial bops, but there were so many songs on there, that had no 'THATS ARIANA!' feeling to it. 'Problem', 'Break Free', 'One Last Time', 'Why Try'... all these songs could've been sung by anyone, they had no Ariana feeling to them, 'Be my Baby', 'Too Close', 'Love Me Harder', 'Only 1' and 'You don't know me' had all some kind of fresh, new yet throwback Ariana sound to them. 

I love 'Focus' and Ariana to death, but It just sounds like what we heard before and everyone could've sung it. What made Mariah and Whitney such legendary Icons, was their magic to reinvent themselves musically each era, yet they stuck to their style and when their Song came on, you know it was them. 

I felt like with 'Yours Truly', the best RnB Album of 2013, she has found her style, and I wanted her to go deeper and explore, maybe add some electro elements but not too much. 

On 'My Everything', I felt like her Label had too much control, I am glad she's working with Tommy Brown and cashmere cat again, cause IMO they produced the best Songs on ME. She can stay away from Max Martin, cause he's turning her into a commercial pop star, which is great, but all the legends made producers famous or worked with unknown producers. (Britney - Max Martin, Kelly Clarkson/Katy Perry - Dr.Luke, Gaga - RedOne). If you work with 'hip' and 'popular' Producers, you'll become boring and uninteresting. 

I wish her the best of luck, and hope that 'Focus' is only the lead Single for the transition from ME to Moonlight.