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River (Eminem song)

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"River"
Single by Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran
from the album Revival
ReleasedDecember 15, 2017 (2017-12-15)
Genre
Length3:41
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Emile Haynie
Eminem singles chronology
"Walk on Water"
(2017) 		"River"
(2017) 		"Nowhere Fast"
(2018)
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
""Perfect Duet" version"
(2017) 		"River"
(2017) 		""Perfect Symphony" version"
(2017)
Music video
"River" on YouTube

"River" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring 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 the artists alongside producer Emile Haynie. "River" was released to radio on December 15, 2017 (alongside the rest of the album) 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

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Ed Sheeran served as the featured vocalist on the song.

The song was released on the radio on January 5, 2018. An audio video was uploaded to Eminem's YouTube channel on December 15, 2017. As of October 3, 2021, the video has over 208 million views.

Reception

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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

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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

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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 October 2022, the video has been viewed over 188 million times and has accumulated over 2.6 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]

Composition

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The song runs for 3 minutes and 41 seconds and is in the key of G♯ minor, the chord progression for the intro is G♯m-B-E-F♯.[citation needed]

Live performances

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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.[citation needed]

Awards and nominations

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See also: List of awards and nominations received by Eminem
Year Ceremony Award Result
2018 MTV Video Music Awards Best Cinematography (with Ed Sheeran) Nominated

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[80] 7× Platinum 490,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[81] Platinum 30,000‡
Belgium (BEA)[82] Platinum 20,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[83] Platinum 40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[84] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[85] 2× Platinum 180,000‡
France (SNEP)[86] Platinum 200,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[87] Gold 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[88] Platinum 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[89] Platinum 30,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[90] Platinum 60,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[91] Platinum 50,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[92] Gold  
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[93] Gold 30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[94] 2× Platinum 16,000,000†
United Kingdom (BPI)[96] 2× Platinum 1,200,000[95]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Country Date Format Label Ref.
Italy December 15, 2017 Contemporary hit radio Universal [4]
United Kingdom January 5, 2018 Polydor [5]

See also

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References

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  2. ^ "Eminem FaceTimes Ed Sheeran To Ask About "River" Collaboration". HotNewHipHop. August 29, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Eminem Returns to Acting in River Music Video With Ed Sheeran". E! Online. February 14, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran "River" – (Radio Date: 15/12/2017)". radiodate.it.
  5. ^ a b "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. January 6, 2018. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Eminem and Ed Sheeran's New Song Isn't Even Bad in an Interesting Way - SPIN". www.spin.com.
  7. ^ Sexton, Paul (January 20, 2018). "Eminem's 'River' Gives Rapper Ninth U.K. No. 1 Single". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "Eminem's River is Number 1 on this week's Official Trending Chart". www.officialcharts.com.
  9. ^ "Eminem & Ed Sheeran's 'River' Video Is Flooded With the Extreme Highs and Lows of Love: Watch". www.billboard.com.
  10. ^ "WATCH: Eminem, Ed Sheeran 'River' music video is out!". Rappler. February 14, 2018.
  11. ^ EminemVEVO (February 14, 2018), Eminem - River ft. Ed Sheeran, retrieved December 31, 2018
  12. ^ "Eminem Shares Behind-the-Scenes Footage From 'River' Video: Watch". Billboard.
  13. ^ Roth, Madeline. "Eminem And Ed Sheeran Dial Up The Drama In First 'River' Video Teaser". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018.
  14. ^ "Eminem and Ed Sheeran Unleash Brilliant 'River' Music Video". www.mtv.co.uk.
  15. ^ M&m. "Eminem and Ed Sheeran's 'River' Video is Tough to Watch, But Worth It: Watch". Fuse. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "Eminem and Ed Sheeran tackle the dark side of relationships in harrowing River video". February 14, 2018.
  17. ^ "Eminem Confronts Lover About Pregnancy in Dark River Video - XXL". XXL Mag. February 14, 2018.
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  91. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 24, 2024. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter River in the search box.
  92. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Singles Top 100 (09/2018)". Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  93. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Eminem / Ed Sheeran – River". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  94. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 10, 2018 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 9, 2018. Scroll to position 16 to view certification.
  95. ^ White, Jack (June 19, 2019). "Ed Sheeran's Top 10 biggest collaborations on the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  96. ^ "British single certifications – Eminem ft Ed Sheeran – River". British Phonographic Industry.
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