Pop radio listeners are not enthusiastic about Ariana Grande’s new single “Focus.”
According to the Mediabase/Critical Mass Media callout report, “Focus” earns a positive score from only 40.8% of surveyed listeners, a negative score from a whopping 40.4%, and a net positive score of only 0.3%.
Its earns a “favorite” rating from only 10.3% of listeners. While bottlenecked by the fact that the song is new, the score is still weak.
Of the 31 pop songs measured in the Mediabase/Critical Mass Media callout report, “Focus” possesses the lowest positive score, the highest negative score, and the lowest net positive score. It holds the second-lowest favorite score.
The net positive scores for Halsey’s “New Americana” and Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” illustrate the comparative weakness of the “Focus” scores. The songs, which tie as the second-lowest scoring on the net positive metric, hold scores of 19.1%. That is still significantly better than the 0.3% score posted by “Focus.”
The “Focus” familiarity level is only 61.8%, and the scores can certainly improve as more listeners begin to recognize the song.
There is nothing unequivocal about this week’s callout report, however. It is not flattering.