Focus / No Angel

"Focus" and "No Angel" are songs recorded by English singer Charli XCX. They were released as a double single on 28 June 2018 by Asylum Records and Atlantic Records UK as the second installment from a series of monthly single releases.^[1] Both of the songs were performed live prior to their release.^[2]

"Focus" / "No Angel"
Single by Charli XCX
Released	29 June 2018 (2018-06-29)
Genre	Synth-pop hip hop
Length	6:28
Label	Asylum Atlantic UK
Songwriter(s)	Charlotte Aitchison Alexander Guy Cook Jack & Coke
Producer(s)	A. G. Cook Jack & Coke Saltwives The Invisible Men SOPHIE
Charli XCX singles chronology
"Bitches" (2018) "Focus" / "No Angel" (2018) "Girls Night Out" (2018)

Composition

"Focus" is a "synth-driven, half-rapped"^[3] "hip hop"^[4] track which features the singer giving a demand for attention.^[5] Lake Schatz of Consequence of Sound compared the song to XCX's 2016 extended play Vroom Vroom.^[6] "No Angel" is a bouncy synth-pop^[7][4] anthem.^[3] It sees the singer admitting to having a wild side and wanting to prove herself worthy of love.^[5]

Critical reception

Julia Gray of Stereogum named "Focus" a "synth-driven, half-rapped track" and named "No Angel" a "bouncy, shimmering anthem".^[3] "No Angel" was named "Best New Track" by Pitchfork, describing the song as "effervescent 80s synth pop".^[7] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone called "Focus" an "unrepentant earworm, with that trademark XCX style of delivering an almost cruelly addictive, simple chorus." She wrote that "No Angel" "has the effortless cool that makes so many of her songs sound fresh and unmistakably her own."^[8] Mike Nied of Idolator wrote that "it is easy to imagine 'Focus' filling dance floors across the globe with its irresistible production." Nied praised "No Angel" for moving "her pop aesthetic into a more experimental realm and features some of her most earnest lyrics to date."^[5]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Qobuz.

Focus / No Angel^[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Focus"	Charlotte Aitchison Alexander Guy Cook Jack & Coke	A. G. Cook Jack & Coke	3:22
2.	"No Angel"	Charlotte Aitchison George Astasio Jason Pebworth Jon Shave Alexander Oriet David Phelan	Saltwives The Invisible Men SOPHIE[a]	3:06
Total length:				6:28

Focus (Yaeji Remix)^[9]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Focus" (Yaeji Remix)	Aitchison Cook Jack & Coke	Cook Jack & Coke	3:17
Total length:				3:17

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Charts

Chart performance for "Focus"

Chart (2018)	Peak position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[10]	32

References

1. ""Focus / No Angel" – Single by Charli XCX". Asylum Records. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via iTunes.
2. "Charli XCX shares 'Focus' and 'No Angel'". DIY. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
3. Gray, Julia (29 June 2018). "Charli XCX – "Focus" & "No Angel"". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
4. Reed, Ryan (29 June 2018). "Hear Charli XCX's Synth-Driven New Songs, 'Focus,' 'No Angel". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
5. "» Charli XCX Hits The Dance Floor On Loved-Up Bops "Focus" & "No Angel"". www.idolator.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
6. "Charli XCX drops two new songs, "Focus" and "No Angel": Stream". Consequence of Sound. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
7. Farrell, Margaret (2 July 2018). ""No Angel" by Charli XCX Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
8. Spanos, Brittany (29 June 2018). "Charli XCX Is a Pop Princess Par Excellence With 'Focus,' 'No Angel'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
9. "Focus (Yaeji Remix) by Charli XCX on Tidal". Tidal. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
10. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Retrieved 15 October 2018.