Save Your Tears

On July 12, 2019, a snippet of the track appeared online, leading many to believe that it was set to appear on After Hours. On March 17, 2020, the music identifying app Shazam revealed that the record would be the eleventh song on The Weeknd’s fourth studio album. Later that day, The Weeknd confirmed the piece’s presence as the album’s track list was released.[4]

“Save Your Tears" touches on the impact both Bella Hadid and a second ex, seemingly his second most recent girlfriend Selena Gomez, had on him. The song captures The Weeknd's longing for Hadid after seeing her out and his regrets over breaking her heart. This run-in was likely the one reported in tabloids last summer: The two ran into each other at Catch One nightclub after their breakup in August 2019, and Hadid left minutes after The Weeknd arrived. The artist acknowledges Hadid's refusal to give The Weeknd her attention is probably because he hurt her the way another ex—Gomez, perhaps, who he sang extensively about in his last EP My Dear Melancholy—did him ("I broke your heart like someone did to mine / And now you won't love me for a second time").[5]

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Group, the record is written in the key of C Major with a Allegro moderato tempo of 118 beats per minute. The Weeknd's vocal range spans from the low note of G₃ to the high note of A₄.[6]

“Its production billows into an array of bright synths and ominous melodies. Lyrically, Tesfaye appears self reflective as he atones for his past. Ultimately, ‘Save Your Tears’ feels like the narrative arc of what The Weeknd envisioned for his reclusive protagonist all along, now emerging from the darkness but failing to resist temptation,” commented Complex Magazine journalist Joyce Ng.[7]

“Save Your Tears“ received widespread critical acclaim. Billboard hailed the song as the best track on his new album, “ Although ‘Save Your Tears’ is one of the most pop-driven songs on the album, The Weeknd doesn’t hold back when it comes to the rather cold nature he usually finds himself adopting when it comes to his lovers. The production remains upbeat and steady the entire time, thanks to work from Max Martin, Oscar Holter, DaHeala, and The Weeknd himself, combining the best of his old content and some newer, more mainstream-driven sounds“.[8] Craig Jenkins of Vulture raved, “The Weeknd perfects the kitschy ’80s genre experiment with Save Your Tears, a gutting breakup tune gorgeous and simple enough to stand alongside peak ’80s pop like the Cars’ “You Might Think” (and slick enough to swipe a bit of melody from Wham!’s “Everything She Wants” in the chorus). The piece concocts sound informed by both trap and dance music, encased in dense atmospherics, and heavy on crisp, bright keys”.[9] “‘Save Your Tears’ has both tonal echoes of Depeche Mode’s melancholy and a nod to “Everything She Wants” by Wham!, exhibiting shimmery mid-80s luxuriance,” praised New York Times editor Jon Caramanica.[10]

Slant columnist Seth Wilson observed, “‘Save Your Tears’ revels in spite, flaunting how over-it Tesfaye is in front of his ex while teasing the possibility of reconciliation. Tesfaye’s distinct brand of R&B consistently draws from other genres, but hearing him embrace a straight-up synth-rock sound here is an exciting change of pace”.[11] “He draws on synth-pop nostalgia to mirror the tragic glitz of ’80s Hollywood: the plinking synths and slick hand-claps of ‘Save Your Tears’ evokes a long-lost Wham! track. His bleeding-heart melodies and unforgettable hooks remind us why we keep listening to the ‘80s first place,” exclaimed Pitchfork writer Isabella Herrera.[12] Jem Aswad of Variety commented, “‘Save Your Tears’, which could have been an MTV staple in the early’80s, is begging for period-appropriate videos. The record has thwacking electronic percussion and the vocoder hearkening back to Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Mr. Blue Sky’”.[13]

“‘Save Your Tears’ includes soaring melodies that provide ample opportunity for Mr. Tesfaye to show off his vocal range, being used on television singing competitions. By design, it is big and broad, less specific lyrically and further from the shadowy persona at the heart of the Weeknd—Mr. Tesfaye often seems downright affable here. Mr. Martin and The Weeknd show the influence of 1980s synth pop. The piece sounds like something from a John Hughes soundtrack,” asserted Mark Richardson from the Wall Street Journal.[14] Michael Cragg from Vogue UK praised the record as “the sort of synth experimentation last heard in 1984 on The NeverEnding Story soundtrack”.[15] “‘Save Your Tears‘ is one of his best musical offerings to date,” applauded GQ journalist Zak Maoui.[16]

Following the release of its parent album, "Save Your Tears" debuted at number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 dated April 4, 2020.[17]

On the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, the song reached its peak of number 13.[18]

In the singer's native country of Canada, "Save Your Tears" reached number 46 on the Canadian Hot 100.[19]

The record’s official remix is created by OPN and is included in the original deluxe edition of After Hours and the remix EP After Hours (Remixes).[20] Salvatore Maicki of The Fader praised the collaboration, “On the OPN remix of ‘Save Your Tears,’ they meet in the middle, igniting a technicolor spectacle.[21]

Credits adapted from Genius.[22]

• The Weeknd – songwriting, vocals, production, programming, keyboards, bass, guitar, drums
• Belly – songwriting, production
• Jason Quenneville – songwriting, production
• Max Martin – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, guitar, drums
• Oscar Holter – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, guitar, drums
• Max Grahn - guitar
• Shin Kamiyama – engineering
• Cory Bice – engineering assistant
• Jeremy Lertola – engineering assistant
• Sean Klein – engineering assistant
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• John Hanes – engineering for mixing
• Dave Kutch – mastering
• Kevin Peterson – mastering

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Save Your Tears (Audio) on YouTube
• Save Your Tears (OPN remix audio) on YouTube