Graphic created by Hard Pass Creative

There was something different about the recording studio the day Bishop Briggs made a demo for “River”.

She had been invited to a session with producers Mark Jackson and Ian Brendan Scott, where the creation process had become everything she wanted out of music. She utilized organic elements such as a wooden shoe box found in the room and their own belts. They stacked her vocals to create a choir effect. It gave her creativity a space to explore a song that would ultimately change the trajectory of her music career.

10 years later, “River” still embodies who she is as an artist.

“The song means so much to me,” she said. “It represents so much excitement and really feeling like myself. I remember the first time that I went home with the demo of that song, and I was listening to it in the car with my best friend, and I just felt such a relief. I felt as if, even if no one hears this song ever again, I'll have found myself musically.”

As someone who was searching for the answers of who she was, she found those answers within “River”. Soon after, she watched others find answers of their own in the lyrics of the song. She still remembers the first time the audience sang it back to her, initially thinking that she was experiencing some kind of feedback with her in-ear monitors. When she recognized it was her microphone picking up the audience’s voices, it became a moment of disbelief and triumph all rolled into one.

The song seems to have stayed in the zeitgeist for the last decade, from noteworthy covers to intricate dance routines. Pink began performing “River” on tour in 2017 and included it on her live album, All I Know So Far: Setlist. Pole dance fitness videos regularly used the song, which became the biggest surprise for Briggs, who was impressed at how they made it “sexier and cooler than I ever could.”

Choreographer Galen Hooks first released a contemporary/hip-hop dance a year after the song’s release and recently reconnected with Briggs for an anniversary music video. It is also frequently covered on reality competition shows and was a clue for her own performances when she won season nine of The Masked Singer.

“I truly wasn't expecting so much of what's happened in the past 10 years, and just for it to connect with people, meant so much,” she said. “That's why there was such an emphasis on recreating that dance that Galen Hooks created, because those types of videos made the biggest impact on the song's success.”

Briggs even uses it as part of her own warm-up routine which she frequently posts on social media. As it is typically the last song on her setlist, and the song where she really utilizes the stage, she feels like she physically needs to be in shape for it as well as emotionally.

Each night, playing “River” is a celebration of everything she has accomplished. The energy in the room changes as the first chorus hits. It’s the song where she most commands the stage, and the audience joins her in the celebration.

Continuing to celebrate the song, whether it’s through video creation or interviews about its impact, keeps its message alive. Bishop Briggs still brings organic elements and stacked vocals into her creation process, and in turn, releases final products that reach audiences old and new. “River” will always be the song that made her the artist she is today, and holding that song alongside the people who resonated with it means more than words can express.

“Something I've gathered from what people have told me is it was the first song that people connected with me on,” she said. “It's a good way to find those people again, and check in 10 years later.”