River (Krystian Ochman song)

"River"
The official cover for "River"
Single by Ochman
from the album Ochman (Deluxe Edition)
LanguageEnglish
Released3 February 2022
GenreSoul, orchestral pop[1][2]
Length3:00
LabelUniversal Music Polska
Songwriters
Ochman singles chronology
"Złodzieje wyobraźni"
(2021)		 "River"
(2022)		 "Bittersweet"
(2022)
Music video
"River" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry
Country
Artist
Language
English
Composers
Lyricists
  • Ochman
  • Ashley Hicklin
Finals performance
Semi-final result
6th
Semi-final points
198
Final result
12th
Final points
151
Entry chronology
◄ "The Ride" (2021)
"Solo" (2023) ►

"River" is a 2022 single by Polish-American singer Ochman. The song represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy after winning Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję, Poland's national final.[3]

Background and composition

Ochman in Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję on 19 February 2022

"River" was written by Krystian Ochman and Ashley Hicklin and produced by Adam Wiśniewski and Mikołaj Trybulec.[4]

According to Ochman, the song tackles stress and the world constantly thinking about the future, adding that the song is "how much we want and need a break from all this hustle and bustle."[4] Glamour Poland said that the song focuses on nostalgia, grief, and indifference.[5] In the first verse, Ochman hints at "going to the river" to "carry him and let him drift away" as he has many tasks and "too much on his mind." Eventually, the lyrics argue that the worst moments will soon pass, like a flowing river. Rafał Wróblewski of ESKA says that the message is needed now: "when there is so much sadness, stress, and uncertainty around us." He added that, even though we still have to prepare for the future, we still have to "look for the positives," adding that time does not stop like a river, leading to problems being inevitable, and that there is still hope in a better life.[6] Super Express said that the mouth of a river is meant to "symbolize a moment of respite and rebirth."[7]

Release and promotion

The song was released on February 3 with an accompanying music video directed by Dawid Ziemba and the Mind Productions team.[4] Rafał Wróblewski of ESKA said that the music video had "many symbols, such as closing doors, dark figures circling next to the main character, or even an attempt to escape from the palace." Filming started at 08:00 CET and ended at 20:00 CET at the Jabłonna Palace.[8]

Reception

Netizens, according to site ESKA, praised the vocals, melody, and flowing message[8] while Glamour Poland said that the song was a solemn ballad.[5]

Eurovision Song Contest

Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję

TVP opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries between 20 September 2021 and 20 November 2021.[9] The broadcaster received 150 submissions at the closing of the deadline. A five-member selection committee consisting of a representative of TVP, a radio personality, a music expert, a journalist and a representative of the Polish Musicians Union selected ten entries from the received submissions to compete in the national final.[10] The selected entries were announced on 14 January 2022 during the TVP2 programme Pytanie na śniadanie.

The final took place on February 19, 2022. Ten entries would compete, and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. The top three most voted songs would proceed to the superfinal round, where all votes would be reset and the winner would be determined. Both rounds would use a 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and a public vote.

"River" would move on to be one of the three songs in the superfinal, which it won. As a result, the song represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2022, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Poland was placed into the second semi-final, held on 12 May 2022, and performed in the second half of the show, 14th out of 18th countries.[11][12]

Track listing

Digital download[13]
No.TitleLength
1."River"3:00
CD single[14]
No.TitleLength
1."River"2:59

Charts

Chart performance for "River"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[15] 24
Lithuania (AGATA)[16] 34
Netherlands (Single Tip)[17] 26
Poland Airplay (ZPAV)[18]12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 88
UK Singles Downloads (Official Charts)[20]42

Certifications

Certifications for "River"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[21] Platinum 50,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ ""Let the water carry me away" — Ochman's "River" lyrics encourage us to let go of our fears and worries". wiwibloggs. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Wiwi Jury: Poland's Ochman with "River"". wiwibloggs. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Poland: Krystian Ochman's 'River' winds its way to Eurovision 🇵🇱". Eurovision.tv. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Z tym utworem Polak wygra Eurowizję? Zobacz teledysk!" [Eurovision 2022: Krystian Ochman and the song 'River'. Watch the music video and check out the lyrics!]. Muzyka Interia (in Polish). 3 February 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Eurowizja 2022 polska piosenka: o czym śpiewa Krystian Ochman w utworze „River"? Tekst i tłumaczenie po polsku" [Eurovision 2022 Polish song: what does Krystian Ochman sing about in the song 'River'? Lyrics and translation in Polish]. Glamour (in Polish). 10 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Wróblewski, Rafał (14 May 2022). "River po polsku - o czym śpiewa Krystian Ochman? O czym jest piosenka Polski?" [River in Polish - what does Krystian Ochman sing about? What is the Polish song about?]. ESKA (in Polish). Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Eurowizja 2022: Piosenka Polski. O czym śpiewa Krystian Ochman w "River"?" [Eurovision 2022: Song of Poland. What does Krystian Ochman sing about in 'River'?]. Super Express (in Polish). 14 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 Wróblewski, Rafał (3 February 2022). "Ochman i pełny emocji teledysk River. Byliśmy na planie klipu! [Tylko u nas]" [Ochman and the emotion-filled River music video. We were on the set of the clip! [Exclusive]]. ESKA (in Polish). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Regulamin Krajowych Eliminacji do 66. Konkursu Piosenki Eurowizji 2022" [Rules of the National Qualification for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest 2022] (PDF). tvp.pl (in Polish). Telewizja Polska. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  10. ↑ Czerniawski, Mieszko (14 January 2022). "Eurowizja 2022: znamy stawkę polskich preselekcji. Kim są uczestnicy?". Eurowizja.org (in Polish). OGAE Polska. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? 🇮🇹". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Second Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "River – Single by Ochman". iTunes. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Ochman – River". Discogs. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  16. ↑ "2022 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  17. ↑ "Dutch Single Tip 21/05/2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "Bestsellery i wyróżnienia - AirPlays - Top - Archiwum" (in Polish). ZPAV. Archived from the original. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Official Singles Downloads Chart on 20/5/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 November 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter River in the search box.
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