River (Eminem song)

"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.

"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
"Untouchable"
(2017)		 "River"
(2017)		 "Chloraseptic (Remix)"
(2018)
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
"Perfect Duet"
(2017)		 "River"
(2017)		 "Perfect Symphony"
(2017)
Music video
"River" on YouTube

Release and promotion
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

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 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

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♯.

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
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

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[80] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
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‡
Portugal (AFP)[91] Gold 5,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[92] 2× Platinum 16,000,000†
United Kingdom (BPI)[93] 2× Platinum 1,200,000[94]

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

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

References
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