River (Eminem song)
"River" | ||||
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Single by Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran | ||||
from the album Revival | ||||
Released | December 15, 2017 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Emile Haynie | |||
Eminem singles chronology | ||||
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Ed Sheeran singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"River" on YouTube |
"River" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring guest vocals by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It is the fifth track from his ninth solo studio album Revival (2017).[1][2][3] The song was written by Mathers, Sheeran and Emile Haynie, and produced by Haynie. "River" was released to radio on December 15, 2017, in Italy, and in the UK on January 5, 2018, as the album's second single.[4][5] The music video received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards. "River" details the struggles of a failing relationship that culminates in an abortion.
Release and promotion[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Ed_Sheeran_2013.jpg/150px-Ed_Sheeran_2013.jpg)
The song was released on the radio on January 5, 2018. An audio video was uploaded to Eminem's YouTube channel on December 14, 2017. As of October 3, 2021, the video has over 197 million views and 2.2 million likes.
Reception[]
Spin magazine panned it, saying that it's "a song whose perfection of form is matched only by its emptiness of content. It could be beautiful."[6]
Commercial performance[]
Commercially, it reached number one in the United Kingdom, making it Eminem's ninth number one there and Sheeran's fifth.[7][8] It also reached number one in Austria, Norway, Scotland and Sweden as well as the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the top 20 in Belgium and the United States.
Music video[]
A music video for the song was released on February 14, 2018. It was directed by Emil Nava. The video garnered over 5 million views in the first 24 hours of its release. As of November 9, 2021, the video has been viewed over 178 million times and has accumulated over 2.5 million likes.[9][10][11][12][3][13][14] The music video received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
In their review of the video, Fuse described some of the scenes as "tense and serious", further stating that a "dark-haired Eminem plays the role so well and raps rhymes about making a woman give up her baby so convincingly, it's not entirely clear what's true and what's made up."[15][16][17][18]
Live performances[]
Eminem and Ed Sheeran performed the song live together for the first (and to date, only) time on the final night of Eminem's Revival Tour at Twickenham Stadium on July 15, 2018.
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Cinematography (with Ed Sheeran) | Nominated |
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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Certifications[]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[81] | 3× Platinum | 210,000![]() |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[82] | Platinum | 30,000![]() |
Belgium (BEA)[83] | Platinum | 20,000![]() |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[84] | Platinum | 40,000![]() |
Canada (Music Canada)[85] | Platinum | 80,000![]() |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[86] | Platinum | 90,000![]() |
France (SNEP)[87] | Platinum | 200,000![]() |
Germany (BVMI)[88] | Gold | 200,000![]() |
Italy (FIMI)[89] | Platinum | 50,000![]() |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[90] | Platinum | 30,000![]() |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[91] | Platinum | 60,000![]() |
Portugal (AFP)[92] | Gold | 5,000![]() |
Sweden (GLF)[93] | 2× Platinum | 16,000,000![]() |
United Kingdom (BPI)[95] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000[94] |
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Release history[]
Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Italy | December 15, 2017 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal | [4] |
United Kingdom | January 5, 2018 | Polydor | [5] |
See also[]
- List of number-one urban singles of 2018 (Australia)
- List of number-one hits of 2018 (Austria)
- List of number-one songs in Norway
- List of Scottish number-one singles of 2018
- List of number-one singles of the 2010s (Sweden)
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s
References[]
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- ^ a b "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. January 6, 2018. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ "Eminem and Ed Sheeran's New Song Isn't Even Bad in an Interesting Way - SPIN". www.spin.com.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (January 20, 2018). "Eminem's 'River' Gives Rapper Ninth U.K. No. 1 Single". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ "Eminem's River is Number 1 on this week's Official Trending Chart". www.officialcharts.com.
- ^ "Eminem & Ed Sheeran's 'River' Video Is Flooded With the Extreme Highs and Lows of Love: Watch". www.billboard.com.
- ^ "WATCH: Eminem, Ed Sheeran 'River' music video is out!". Rappler.
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- ^ M&m. "Eminem and Ed Sheeran's 'River' Video is Tough to Watch, But Worth It: Watch". Fuse. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
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- ^ "Italian single certifications – Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran – River" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 16, 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "River" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
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- ^ "British single certifications – Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran – River". British Phonographic Industry.Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type River in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
External links[]
- Audio on YouTube
- 2017 songs
- Eminem songs
- Ed Sheeran songs
- Songs written by Eminem
- Songs written by Ed Sheeran
- Songs written by Emile Haynie
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Austria
- Number-one singles in Norway
- Number-one singles in Scotland
- Number-one singles in Sweden
- 2018 singles
- Songs about abortion
- Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie
- Songs about rivers