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"Save as Draft"
Single by Katy Perry
from the album Witness
ReleasedJune 26, 2017
Studio
Length3:48
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Elof Loelv
Katy Perry singles chronology
"Feels"
(2017) 		"Save as Draft"
(2017) 		"Hey Hey Hey"
(2018)
Audio video
"Save as Draft" on YouTube

"Save as Draft" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her fifth studio album, Witness (2017). It was sent to adult contemporary radio in the United States on June 26, 2017, by Capitol Records, as the record's fourth single. The track was written by Perry, Noonie Bao, Dijon McFarlane, Nicholas Audino, Lewis Hughes and its producer Elof Loelv. Musically, "Save as Draft" is a mid-tempo power ballad, which lyrically portrays a warning about coming to terms with an ex.

Reviewers were ambivalent about "Save as Draft" following its release. While receiving praise for its sensibility and innovation on the subject matter, it was also called mediocre and inferior to other tracks on Witness. The song also drew comparisons to the music of Sam Smith, Lorde, and Timbaland. Commercially, "Save as Draft" reached numbers 14 and 19 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 component charts, respectively, in the United States. It was aided by several live performances, including during her concert tour Witness: The Tour (2017–2018) and four-day YouTube live stream Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide (2017).

Recording and release

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"Save as Draft" was written by Katy Perry, Noonie Bao, Dijon McFarlane, Nicholas Audino, Lewis Hughes and Elof Loelv, while production was solely handled by the latter; Max Martin was credited as a vocal producer. The song is included on Witness (2017), Perry's fifth studio album.[1][2] It was sent to American adult contemporary radio stations on June 26, 2017, by Capitol Records, as Witness's fourth single.[3] It was ranked as the format's most added song that week alongside American recording artist Kesha's "Praying" (2017), with each impacting 16 radio stations.[4]

Composition and lyrics

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Musically, "Save as Draft" is a mid-tempo power ballad, featuring "icy" production,[5][6][7][8][9] and technology metaphors.[10] During an episode of Delilah Rene's podcast Conversations with Delilah, Perry said that the song was a warning about coming to terms with an ex: "I've been in that cycle before in a relationship and it had kind of reignited the relationship, and there’s only so many times you can reignite the relationship or want to or should and sometimes you just need to write it and never send it [...] It's just that exercise, that cathartic exercise." Perry further stated: "I like drafting and then sleeping on it because, for me, my emotions get very heightened in the evening [...]."[11][12] Based on the interview, HuffPost's Brittany Wong called the singer a "breakup coach" and jokingly advised her to write a self-help book in the future.[12]

In a review of "Save as Draft", Bobby Finger of Jezebel speculated that the song was about blogging, with Perry "describ[ing] the pain of desperately wanting to provide satisfying content for an impassioned, unpredictable audience that is incapable of ever being satisfied" and "explain[ing] the frustrating act of writing a blog you never publish out of fear that it will only be torn apart by haters or misunderstood". According to Finger, the singer ultimately "decides to hide her truth from the public".[13] Kevin O'Donnell of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Save as Draft" showcases "a timely rumination on the suckiness of living in a digital world".[14] Lyrics of the track include: "I don't fuck with change, but lately I've been flipping coins a lot" and "I struggle, I juggle, I could just throw a line to you / But I should let sleeping dogs lie / 'Cause I know better, baby / I write it, erase it, repeat it, but what good will it do to reopen the wound?" Perry sings the lines: "So I take a deep breath / And I save as draft" in a near whisper tone and takes an audible breath throughout.[9][12][13]

Reception and promotion

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An image of Perry performing in front of an audience, wearing a metallic outfit with thigh-high boots.
Perry performing "Save as Draft" at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada during her Witness: The Tour (2017–2018).

Upon its release, "Save as Draft" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Finger from Jezebel called the song's chorus "moving" and concluded: "Wow, I'm sobbing".[13] Wren Graves, writing for Consequence of Sound, thought that "Save as Draft" was the best among the closing tracks on Witness and wrote: "[it] puts a 21st century spin on the old thinking-of-my-ex weeper."[7] Idolator's Mike Wass was mixed towards the song, calling it inferior to other mid-tempo tracks on the album, although labelling its subject matter "relatable and the track should satisfy fans/radio programmers looking for a little more substance".[5] Chris Willman from Variety similarly thought that "Save as Draft" was a "mixed bag".[15] Rolling Stone's Christopher R. Weingarten negatively compared the track to the work of Sam Smith,[16] while others likened it to Timbaland and OneRepublic's "Apologize" (2007), as well as to the material of Lorde.[9][17] Commercially, "Save as Draft" reached number 14 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary component chart on August 5, 2017, staying on the chart for 16 weeks.[18] On the Adult Top 40 chart, it peaked at number 19 on August 26, 2017, leaving after 10 weeks.[19]

Perry promoted "Save as Draft" with several live performances. The singer included the song during her Witness: The Tour (2017–2018) concert tour at selected dates, where she performed it towards the end with fellow ballads from her catalog.[20] Perry also sang the track during her four-day YouTube live stream Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide (2017),[21] at the Glastonbury Festival near Pilton, Somerset, England on June 24,[22] and for British radio station Kiss on June 30, 2017; at the latter appearance, she performed an acoustic version of the song.[23]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Witness.[2]

Recording locations

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Personnel

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  • Katy Perry – vocals, composition
  • Nicholas Audino – composition
  • Noonie Bao – composition
  • Rachael Findlen - engineer
  • Serban Ghenea - mixing
  • John Hanes - mixing engineer
  • Lewis Hughes – composition
  • Peter Karlsson - vocal editing
  • Elof Loelv – composition, production, engineer, drums, bass, piano, synthesizer
  • Randy Marill - mastering
  • Max Martin – vocal production
  • Dijon McFarlane – composition

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Witness by Katy Perry on Apple Music" (Credits can be obtained from the songs once added to the iTunes library). iTunes Store. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Katy Perry (2017). Witness (Media notes). Capitol Records. 00602557740905.
  3. ^ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Cantor, Brian. "Kesha's "Praying," Katy Perry's "Save As Draft" Tie For Most Added At Hot AC Radio (Update)". Headline Planet. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Wass, Mike (June 21, 2017). "Katy Perry Is Rolling Out "Save As Draft" As A Single". Idolator. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  6. ^ Goncalves, Julien (June 22, 2017). ""Save As Draft" : Katy Perry choisit une ballade touchante comme nouveau single US" ["Save As Draft" : Katy Perry chooses a touching ballad for a new single release in the US] (in French). Pure Charts. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Graves, Wren (June 6, 2017). "Album Review: Katy Perry – Witness". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Wass, Mike (June 9, 2017). "Katy Perry's 'Witness': Album Review". Idolator. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Mapes, Jillian (June 14, 2017). "Katy Perry: Witness Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  10. ^ Zaleski, Annie (June 9, 2017). "Katy Perry runs away from her strengths on the pop slog Witness". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Appugliesi, Jordan (August 7, 2017). "Katy Perry Says Her Song 'Save As Draft' Is An Exercise In Getting Over An Ex". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c Wong, Brittany (October 8, 2017). "Katy Perry Really Doesn't Want You To Send That 2 A.M. Text To Your Ex". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Finger, Bobby (September 17, 2017). "Katy Perry's 'Save As Draft' Brilliantly Captures the Struggles of Blogging". Jezebel. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  14. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin (June 8, 2017). "Katy Perry Is Reflective, Anxious, and Fired Up On 'Witness': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Willman, Chris (June 8, 2017). "Album Review: Katy Perry's 'Witness'". Variety. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (June 9, 2017). "Review: Katy Perry Navigates a Less Bombastic Pop Universe on 'Witness'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  17. ^ DeVille, Chris (June 8, 2017). "Watching Katy Perry Struggle For Relevance This Year Has Been Painful". Stereogum. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Katy Perry Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  19. ^ a b "Katy Perry Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  20. ^ Wass, Mike (September 20, 2017). "Crazy Costumes & Cosmic Props: Katy Perry Kicks Off The 'Witness Tour'". Idolator. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  21. ^ "Katy Perry – Save as Draft (Live from Witness World Wide)". Katy Perry. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  22. ^ Wass, Mike (June 25, 2017). "Witness Katy Perry's Glittery, Hit-Filled Glastonbury Set". Idolator. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  23. ^ "Katy Perry – Save as Draft | Kiss Presents". YouTube. June 30, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  24. ^ "Adult Contemporary Songs - Year-end 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
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