Save as Draft
{{good article}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Save as Draft
| type = single
| artist = Katy Perry
| album = Witness
| released = June 26, 2017
| length = {{duration|m=3|s=48}}
| genre = Soft rock
| studio =
| label = Capitol
| writer =
- Katy Perry
- Noonie Bao
- Dijon McFarlane
- Nicholas Audino
- Lewis Hughes
- Elof Loelv
| producer = Elof Loelv
| prev_title = Feels
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = Hey Hey Hey
| next_year = 2018
| misc =
{{External music video|header=Audio video|{{YouTube|c32RmK6jn3w|"Save as Draft"}}|type=single}}
}}
"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
"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.{{cite web|title=Witness by Katy Perry on Apple Music|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/witness/id1236460498|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519054054/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/witness/id1236460498|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 19, 2017|publisher=iTunes Store|access-date=June 3, 2017|format=Credits can be obtained from the songs once added to the iTunes library}} It was sent to American adult contemporary radio stations on June 26, 2017, by Capitol Records, as Witness{{'s}} fourth single.{{cite web|title=Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases|url=https://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases|publisher=All Access Media Group|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619205638/https://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases|archive-date=June 19, 2017}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://headlineplanet.com/home/2017/07/10/keshas-praying-ranks-hot-ac-radios-added-song/|title=Kesha's "Praying," Katy Perry's "Save As Draft" Tie For Most Added At Hot AC Radio (Update)|author=Cantor, Brian|publisher=Headline Planet|access-date=January 7, 2018}}
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Save as Draft" is a mid-tempo power ballad, featuring "icy" production,{{cite news|url=https://www.idolator.com/7665197/katy-perry-save-draft-single?Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1|title=Katy Perry Is Rolling Out "Save As Draft" As A Single|author=Wass, Mike|date=June 21, 2017|publisher=Idolator|access-date=January 6, 2018|archive-date=January 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107232935/https://www.idolator.com/7665197/katy-perry-save-draft-single?Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Katy-Perry/news-104477.html|title="Save As Draft" : Katy Perry choisit une ballade touchante comme nouveau single US|trans-title="Save As Draft" : Katy Perry chooses a touching ballad for a new single release in the US|language=French|author=Goncalves, Julien|date=June 22, 2017|access-date=January 6, 2018|publisher=Pure Charts}}{{cite web|url=http://www.idolator.com/7664420/katy-perry-witness-album-review|first=Mike|last=Wass|title=Katy Perry's 'Witness': Album Review|date=June 9, 2017|access-date=June 11, 2017|publisher=Idolator|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829192747/http://www.idolator.com/7664420/katy-perry-witness-album-review|url-status=dead}} and technology metaphors.{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/katy-perry-runs-away-her-strengths-pop-slog-witnes-256575|title=Katy Perry runs away from her strengths on the pop slog Witness|last=Zaleski|first=Annie|date=June 9, 2017|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=June 10, 2017}} 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 [...]."{{cite news|work=Entertainment Tonight Canada|url=https://etcanada.com/news/246280/katy-perry-says-her-song-save-as-draft-is-an-exercise-in-getting-over-an-ex/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808050532/http://etcanada.com/news/246280/katy-perry-says-her-song-save-as-draft-is-an-exercise-in-getting-over-an-ex/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 8, 2017|title=Katy Perry Says Her Song 'Save As Draft' Is An Exercise In Getting Over An Ex|author=Appugliesi, Jordan|date=August 7, 2017|access-date=January 6, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/katy-perry-breakup-advice_us_598c9737e4b0d793738d6b77|title=Katy Perry Really Doesn't Want You To Send That 2 A.M. Text To Your Ex|work=Huffington Post|author=Wong, Brittany|access-date=January 6, 2018|date=October 8, 2017}} 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.
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".{{cite news|url=https://themuse.jezebel.com/katy-perrys-save-as-draft-brilliantly-captures-the-stru-1795961241|title=Katy Perry's 'Save As Draft' Brilliantly Captures the Struggles of Blogging|author=Finger, Bobby|date=September 17, 2017|publisher=Jezebel|access-date=January 6, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613164208/https://themuse.jezebel.com/katy-perrys-save-as-draft-brilliantly-captures-the-stru-1795961241|url-status=dead}} Kevin O'Donnell of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Save as Draft" showcases "a timely rumination on the suckiness of living in a digital world".{{cite magazine|last1=O'Donnell|first1=Kevin|title=Katy Perry Is Reflective, Anxious, and Fired Up On 'Witness': EW Review|url=http://ew.com/music/2017/06/08/katy-perry-witness-review/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 8, 2017|access-date=June 8, 2017}} 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.
Reception and promotion
File:Katy Perry, Witness Tour, Bell Center, Montréal, 19 September 2017 (7) (37338781335).jpg in Montreal, Canada during her Witness: The Tour (2017–2018)|alt=An image of Perry performing in front of an audience, wearing a metallic outfit with thigh-high boots.]]
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". 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."{{cite magazine|last1=Graves|first1=Wren|title=Album Review: Katy Perry – Witness|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/06/album-review-katy-perry-witness/|magazine=Consequence of Sound|date=June 6, 2017|access-date=June 6, 2017}} 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". Chris Willman from Variety similarly thought that "Save as Draft" was a "mixed bag".{{cite journal|url=https://variety.com/2017/music/reviews/katy-perry-witness-album-review-1202458826/|first=Chris|last=Willman|title=Album Review: Katy Perry's 'Witness'|journal=Variety|date=June 8, 2017|access-date=June 8, 2017}} Rolling Stone{{'s}} Christopher R. Weingarten negatively compared the track to the work of Sam Smith,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-katy-perrys-witness-w486805|title=Review: Katy Perry Navigates a Less Bombastic Pop Universe on 'Witness'|last=Weingarten|first=Christopher R.|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=June 9, 2017|access-date=June 9, 2017}} while others likened it to Timbaland and OneRepublic's "Apologize" (2007), as well as to the material of Lorde.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/katy-perry-witness/|title=Katy Perry: Witness Album Review|website=Pitchfork|date=June 14, 2017|access-date=January 7, 2018|author=Mapes, Jillian}}{{cite news|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1944830/watching-katy-perry-struggle-for-relevance-this-year-has-been-painful/franchises/the-week-in-pop/|title=Watching Katy Perry Struggle For Relevance This Year Has Been Painful|work=Stereogum|date=June 8, 2017|access-date=January 1, 2018|author=DeVille, Chris}} 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. On the Adult Top 40 chart, it peaked at number 19 on August 26, 2017, leaving after 10 weeks.
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.{{cite web|last=Wass|first=Mike|title=Crazy Costumes & Cosmic Props: Katy Perry Kicks Off The 'Witness Tour'|url=http://www.idolator.com/7668888/katy-perry-witness-tour-setlist-costumes|publisher=Idolator|date=September 20, 2017|access-date=September 20, 2017|archive-date=September 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924184753/http://www.idolator.com/7668888/katy-perry-witness-tour-setlist-costumes|url-status=dead}} Perry also sang the track during her four-day YouTube live stream Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide (2017),{{cite news|url=https://www.katyperry.com/video/katy-perry-save-draft-live-witness-world-wide/|title=Katy Perry – Save as Draft (Live from Witness World Wide)|publisher=Katy Perry|access-date=January 7, 2018}} at the Glastonbury Festival near Pilton, Somerset, England on June 24,{{cite news|url=http://www.idolator.com/7665373/katy-perry-glastonbury-2017-full-set?Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1|title=Witness Katy Perry's Glittery, Hit-Filled Glastonbury Set|publisher=Idolator|author=Wass, Mike|date=June 25, 2017|access-date=January 7, 2018|archive-date=January 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107232953/http://www.idolator.com/7665373/katy-perry-glastonbury-2017-full-set?Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1|url-status=dead}} and for British radio station Kiss on June 30, 2017; at the latter appearance, she performed an acoustic version of the song.{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwJ_6GtegQ4|title=Katy Perry – Save as Draft {{!}} Kiss Presents|publisher=YouTube|date=June 30, 2017|access-date=January 7, 2018}}
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Witness.{{cite AV media notes|title=Witness|author=Katy Perry|year=2017|publisher=Capitol Records|id=00602557740905}}
= Recording locations =
- Recorded at Encore Studios (Burbank, California) and MXM Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
= Personnel=
{{div col}}
- 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
{{div col end}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for "Save as Draft" ! Chart (2017) ! Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|14|artist=Katy Perry|rowheader=true|access-date=August 23, 2017|refname="chart"}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultpopsongs|19|artist=Katy Perry|rowheader=true|access-date=August 23, 2017|refname="chart 2"}} |
{{col-2}}
= Year-end charts =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for "Save as Draft" ! scope="col"| Chart (2017) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/adult-contemporary-songs|title=Adult Contemporary Songs - Year-end 2017|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 20, 2018}}
| 45 |
|---|
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}