River (Krystian Ochman song)

"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]

"River"
Single by Ochman
from the album Ochman (Deluxe Edition)
Language	English
Released	3 February 2022
Genre	Soul, orchestral pop[1][2]
Length	3:00
Label	Universal Music Polska
Songwriter(s)	Krystian Ochman Ashley Hicklin Adam Wiśniewski Mikołaj Trybulec
Ochman singles chronology
"Złodzieje wyobraźni" (2021) "River" (2022) "Bittersweet" (2022)
Music video
"River" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry
Country	Poland
Artist(s)	Ochman
Language	English
Composer(s)	Ochman Ashley Hicklin Adam Wiśniewski Mikołaj Trybulec
Lyricist(s)	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) ►

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6][7]

Track listing

Digital download^[8]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"River"	3:00

CD single^[9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"River"	2:59

Charts

Chart performance for "River"

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[10]	24
Lithuania (AGATA)[11]	34
Netherlands (Single Tip)[12]	26
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[13]	12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	88
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[15]	42

Certifications

Certifications for "River"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[16]	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 2022-05-23.
2. "Wiwi Jury: Poland's Ochman with "River"". wiwibloggs. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
3. "Poland: Krystian Ochman's 'River' winds its way to Eurovision 🇵🇱". Eurovision.tv. 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
4. "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. 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
5. Czerniawski, Mieszko (14 January 2022). "Eurowizja 2022: znamy stawkę polskich preselekcji. Kim są uczestnicy?". Eurowizja.org (in Polish). OGAE Polska. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
6. "Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? 🇮🇹". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
7. "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.
8. "River – Single by Ochman". iTunes. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
9. "Ochman – River". Discogs. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
10. "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
11. "2022 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
12. "Dutch Single Tip 21/05/2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 May 2022.
13. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
14. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
15. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
16. "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.