A Thousand Years

"A thousand years" is a song by American-Polish singer Christina Perri. The song was internally selected to represent Poland in Own Eurovision Song Contest 19. However it was later decided that Christina would represent the country in the 22nd edition instead.

Background
An official lyric video of the song was premiered on October 17, 2011 via Perri's official Facebook and Twitter pages as well as her official website. On October 26, 2011, she released an official video for the song on her YouTube channel. The video begins with Perri holding a candle. It features a few clips from the movie interspersed between scenes with Perri singing in a room with a floor full of candles. The video may include the voices from Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson saying they love each other while in a wedding and also they can be heard in the background before the bridge. She ends the video singing into a sunset.

Critical reception
Critics praised the song for its lyrics as well as Perri's voice. Bill Lamb from About.com gave the song 4 stars (out of 5) saying that, "Initially, it sounds just a bit sappy and even a bit twee, however, stick with it and as the Waltz time begins to sway more and more the song moves into a bridge that is stunningly gorgeous. It then melts back down into a gentle place before sweeping along into a pleasing conclusion." He also praised Perri's voice, stating, "She uses her voice to a great effect sounding almost as if we were sitting with a friend who chose to speak to us in a song instead of everyday speech patterns. Instead of pushing her voice to power through a huge chorus, she lets the backing track do the speaking."

Chart performance
On the week of October 23, 2011, the song debuted at No. 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 70 on Canadian Hot 100. It has reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Christina her second top 40 hit.

As of December 2012, the song has sold over 2 million digital downloads in the US.