Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have achieved a historic milestone with their single “Rein Me In,” which has spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the UK charts. The achievement surpasses the previous record of 18 weeks, set by Frankie Laine’s “I Believe” in 1953. Several notable artists have come close to matching this record in recent decades, including Bryan Adams with 16 consecutive weeks in 1991, and more recently Drake and Ed Sheeran with 15 and 14 weeks respectively.
Fender wrote “Rein Me In” for his album People Watching, released in February 2025. The track, which began as a gentler album cut rooted in British folk, was re-recorded with Olivia Dean in June 2025 and took 36 weeks to reach the top position. The song addresses themes of substance abuse and heartbreak, with Dean’s verse providing the perspective of the woman in Fender’s narrative. The collaboration became increasingly prominent as Dean’s profile rose following the global success of her second album, The Art of Loving.
The single’s sustained chart dominance is notable given rule changes implemented in 2017 designed to accelerate the turnover of chart positions. Under the “accelerated decline” rule, songs with three consecutive weeks of declining streaming numbers after 10 weeks on the chart face halved stream valuations. “Rein Me In” avoided this fate through its gradual ascent and sustained popularity. The song has intermittently held the top position since February, being temporarily displaced by releases from Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift before returning to No. 1.
Industry officials have praised the achievement as remarkable, with the British Phonographic Institute noting the song’s profound resonance with British audiences. The duet version also won song of the year at the 2026 Brit Awards. Additionally, Charli xcx became the first British female artist to secure two No. 1 albums within the same calendar year this week.
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