"Hold Back the River" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014 by Republic Records as the second single from Bay's first studio album Chaos and the Calm (2014). The song was written by the Ivor Novello award winner Iain Archer with Bay and produced by Jacquire King. The song peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song was used in the movie, The Space Between Us.
| "Hold Back the River" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by James Bay | ||||
| from the album Chaos and the Calm and the EP Hold Back the River | ||||
| B-side | "Wait in Line" (CD) | |||
| Released | 17 November 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
| Studio | Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:58 | |||
| Label | Republic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Jacquire King | |||
| James Bay singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video
A music video to accompany the release of "Hold Back the River" was first released onto YouTube on 24 October 2014 at a total length of four minutes and six seconds.[1]
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (2015) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[38] | 19 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[39] | 35 |
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[40] | 44 |
| France (SNEP)[41] | 194 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[42] | 33 |
| Italy (FIMI)[43] | 43 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[44] | 44 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[45] | 33 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[46] | 24 |
| Slovenia (SloTop50)[47] | 9 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] | 45 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] | 32 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[50] | 8 |
| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[51] | 19 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2010–2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[52] | 64 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[53] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[54] | Gold | 15,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[56] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57] | 2× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[58] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[59] | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[60] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[61] | Platinum | 15,000* |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[62] | 2× Platinum | 20,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[63] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[64] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[65] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[67] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[68] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 17 November 2014[69] | Digital download | Republic |
| United States | 3 March 2015[70] | Modern rock radio |