I Follow Rivers was released by Swedish singer Lykke Li in 2011 on her album Wounded Rhymes. A remix by The Magician helped the track become a major hit across Europe, and its use in the 2013 film Blue Is the Warmest Colour, known in French as La Vie d'Adèle, gave it lasting cultural reach. Clips of the chorus later circulated widely in fan edits and short videos, where the looping vocal became shorthand for devotion and romantic pursuit.