The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Max Martin, and Oscar Holter, with Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits.

A remix with American singer Ariana Grande was released on April 23, 2021, and propelled the song to number one on the Hot 100, marking both artists' sixth number-one single on the chart.

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".

[4] 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!

The piece concocts sound informed by both trap and dance music, encased in dense atmospherics, and heavy on crisp, bright keys".

[5] "'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 The New York Times editor Jon Caramanica.

[6] 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".

[7] "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!

[9] Mark Richardson from The Wall Street Journal asserted that "'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.

[10] Michael Cragg from Vogue UK praised the record as "the sort of synth experimentation last heard in 1984 on The NeverEnding Story soundtrack".

[12] Apple Music applauded the composition, "Few things about 'Save Your Tears' mark it as a breakup song: For one, the production is drenched in bright, '80s-style synths that sound more glamorous than forlorn.

[13] IFPI Chief Executive, Frances Moore has stated, "It has been another brilliant year for 'The Weeknd' and 'Save Your Tears' has unquestionably been one of the world's most loved songs.

In the singer's native country of Canada, "Save Your Tears" reached number 46 on the Canadian Hot 100 following its parent album's release.

He wanders out into the motionless, seated crowd, guzzling one person's champagne and laying his arm on the head of another until he notices a gorgeously brilliant, maskless woman in the audience (played by Bianca Rojas) and guides her onstage.

[36] Rolling Stone journalist Jon Blistein exclaimed, "The Weeknd delivers an exuberant rendition of 'Save Your Tears' to a lifeless, buttoned-up crowd all wearing party masks".

[37] Variety columnist Jen Aswad stated, "It's a fitting, more than slightly disturbing and suitably bizarre continuation in a series of highly unconventional promotional videos".

Editor Starr Bowenbank of Cosmopolitan asserted, "The Weeknd continues to deliver high-quality content…and his newest offering, the music video for 'Save Your Tears' is no exception".

[45] On May 11, 2021, the Weeknd performed "Save Your Tears" at the Brit Awards, wearing a sailor-style raincoat, and "crooning" the song in a brightly lit, sparse box as thunder and lightning raged above him.

[227][228] 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".

[229] The second remix of "Save Your Tears", a collaboration with American singer Ariana Grande, was released on April 23, 2021, with an accompanying animated music video.

[233] Natalia Barr of The Wall Street Journal hailed it as one of the best new pop records, "the two singers have reunited on an updated piece from the Weeknd's new wave-inspired album from last year, After Hours.

"[236] "The pair's vocals intermingle on the wistful, synth-laden track as they harmonize," Rolling Stone editor Althea Legaspi stated.

[237] Apple Music celebrated the composition, "'Save Your Tears' is just as dreamy and lush as the 2020 original, but Grande's vocal acrobatics lend it a new dynamic—it's a duet now, two former lovers looking up at the same night sky, talking back and forth at a distance".

Additionally, it also topped the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart, becoming Grande's eighth and the Weeknd's sixth chart-topping single.

[246] Joining Drake, Justin Bieber and BTS, Grande also became just the fourth act and the first woman to earn at least four top ten hits on Billboard Global 200 survey.