Sam Fender and Olivia Dean top UK chart for record 16 weeks
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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's duet "Rein Me In" has set a new benchmark in British music, spending its 16th week atop the Official U.K. Singles Chart (dated 10 July) to become the longest-running No. 1 single by a British act in chart history. In doing so, the track overtakes Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around", which had held the record for more than 30 years after 15 weeks at the summit in 1994. The milestone caps an unusually sustained run for a song that has resonated widely with the public and drawn celebratory reactions from both artists and their labels.
The single is now the joint second longest-running No. 1 of all time on the U.K. chart, level with Bryan Adams' 1991 hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" and behind only Frankie Laine's "I Believe", which spent 18 weeks at the top in 1953. Released more than a year ago, the duet took a record 35 weeks from its chart debut to first reach No. 1 in February. It originated on Fender's Mercury Prize-winning 2025 album People Watching, was remixed last summer with a new verse from Dean, and went on to win the public-voted song of the year at the 2026 BRIT Awards. Behind it this week, Olivia Rodrigo's "Stupid Song" holds at No. 2, Ariana Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" sits at No. 3, and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" is at No. 4.
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Sam Fender is a singer-songwriter from North Shields, and Olivia Dean is a London-born soul-pop artist; together they recorded "Rein Me In", a duet that first appeared on Fender's 2025 album People Watching before being reworked with an added verse from Dean. The song has spent an unusually long stretch at number one on the Official UK Singles Chart, which tracks the best-selling and most-streamed songs each week and has been running since the 1950s.
The chart has a long history of huge hits camping out at the top for weeks on end, and the record for the longest stay by a British act had stood since 1994, held by Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around". Only Frankie Laine's 1953 hit "I Believe" has ever spent longer at number one overall, making these milestones significant markers in British pop history that acts and fans watch closely.
The story matters because chart longevity is seen as a sign of a song's unusually broad and lasting popularity, going beyond a quick initial burst of sales or streams. "Rein Me In" has also picked up recognition beyond the charts, including a public-voted award at the BRIT Awards, adding to its status as a defining song of the period.
More coverage
- BBC Entertainment — Sam Fender and Olivia Dean make UK chart history with Rein Me In
- NME — Sam Fender and Olivia Deanu2019s u2018Rein Me Inu2019 makes history as longest-running British Number One of all time
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Originally published by Billboard as “Sam Fender & Olivia Dean’s ‘Rein Me In’ Becomes Longest-Running British No. 1 Single in U.K. Chart History”.