Saving My Face
Encyclopedia
"Saving My Face" is a song performed by Scottish
singer KT Tunstall
. The song was written by Tunstall and produced by Steve Osborne
for the Tunstall's third album Drastic Fantastic
(2007). The song's lyrics
were inspired by a documentary Tunstall watched on the Discovery Channel
"about old women having really disturbing amounts of plastic surgery to look very, very young."
was directed by Chris Bran of Black Dog Films and filmed over two days at east London's 3 Mills Studios. The video opens with a scene of Tunstall leaving a bar and walking through empty city streets, as broken pieces of her guitar fly by her. Occasionally while walking, her figure turns ghostly, and phases back in later scenes. The video concludes with Tunstall performing with her guitar after the pieces of it materialize in her hands.
Every frame of the music video required visual effects
which were supervised by James Maclachlan of Prime Focus London. Post-production on the video lasted for fourteen days. The music video premiere on the internet
in October 2007.
called the song "a confident and old-fashioned pop rocker" and gave the song six stars out of ten. The Manchester Evening News
was less impressed, giving it just two out of five stars, and wrote that the song was "nothing to get excited about" even though it had "some cute arpeggios and a very singable chorus." Digital Spy
called "Saving My Face" a "dour affair", but praised its "delightful" lyrics and gave the song two stars out of five.
UK CD single
(RELCD46; Released )
7" vinyl single
(REL46; Released 19 November 2007)
Digital download
(Released )
Digital download
(Released 12 November 2007)
Digital download
(Released 19 November 2007)
Promo CD
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
. The song was written by Tunstall and produced by Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne is a multi-platinum selling British record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, such as New Order, Doves, U2 and KT Tunstall. During the 1990s, Osborne was half of the Perfecto Records team, a production and remix collaboration with Paul Oakenfold; the artists...
for the Tunstall's third album Drastic Fantastic
Drastic Fantastic
Drastic Fantastic is the second studio album by Scottish Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released by Relentless Records on 10 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and 18 September 2007 in the United States and Canada. The album was leaked on P2P networks on 3 September 2007. "Hold On", the...
(2007). The song's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
were inspired by a documentary Tunstall watched on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
"about old women having really disturbing amounts of plastic surgery to look very, very young."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Chris Bran of Black Dog Films and filmed over two days at east London's 3 Mills Studios. The video opens with a scene of Tunstall leaving a bar and walking through empty city streets, as broken pieces of her guitar fly by her. Occasionally while walking, her figure turns ghostly, and phases back in later scenes. The video concludes with Tunstall performing with her guitar after the pieces of it materialize in her hands.
Every frame of the music video required visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
which were supervised by James Maclachlan of Prime Focus London. Post-production on the video lasted for fourteen days. The music video premiere on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in October 2007.
Critical reception
"Saving My Face" received mixed reviews from music critics. Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
called the song "a confident and old-fashioned pop rocker" and gave the song six stars out of ten. The Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
was less impressed, giving it just two out of five stars, and wrote that the song was "nothing to get excited about" even though it had "some cute arpeggios and a very singable chorus." Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
called "Saving My Face" a "dour affair", but praised its "delightful" lyrics and gave the song two stars out of five.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Saving My Face".UK CD single
(RELCD46; Released )
- "Saving My Face"
- "Mothgirl"
7" vinyl single
(REL46; Released 19 November 2007)
- "Saving My Face"
- "Ain't NobodyAin't Nobody"Ain't Nobody" is a 1983 hit single by Rufus & Chaka Khan. It was released as a studio bonus track on the band's live album Stompin' at the Savoy. It reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart and twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart...
"
Digital download
(Released )
- "Saving My Face"
Digital download
(Released 12 November 2007)
- "Saving My Face"
- "Mothgirl"
Digital download
(Released 19 November 2007)
- "Saving My Face" (live acoustic version)
- "Saving My Face"
Promo CD
- "Saving My Face" (radio edit)
- "Saving My Face" (instrumental)
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italian Singles Chart | 23 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 93 |
| Turkey Airplay Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
50 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Triple A Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
24 |