Sam Fender and Olivia Dean set UK record for longest-running No. 1 single

In 1953, the U.K. Singles chart had been running for less than a year and contained just 12 songs when I Believe, a bombastic ballad by US crooner Frankie Laine, hit No 1 and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart. His ballad I Believe spent 18 weeks atop the charts, a benchmark of stability from an era of physical sales and limited competition.

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have officially set a new U.K. Record, with their collaborative track Rein Me In spending 19 weeks at No. 1 as of July 31, 2026. The feat, confirmed by the Official Charts Company, marks the first time a single has surpassed Laine's 18-week tenure.

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Rein Me In is a gentle, folk-rooted composition with a country-ish lilt, according to The Guardian. While it possesses a singalong chorus, it lacks the traditional grandeur of blockbusters, instead relying on a mellifluous sound that The Guardian suggests is well-suited for the repetitive nature of streaming consumption.

The song's lyrical content stands in stark contrast to its amiable melody. Fender describes the track as a story of substance abuse and heartbreak, detailing a protagonist who spirals into drugs and alcohol after a self-destructive breakup.

"I’m talking about substance abuse and drinking too much to get the reason back, the reason for going through your day,"

Sam Fender, via The Guardian

He further explained that the title refers to the role of friends who must rein you in when dealing with heartbreak in a bad way.

Originally appearing as a solo track on Fender’s February 2025 album People Watching, it was re-recorded in June 2025 as a duet. Dean’s contribution added a new perspective, voicing the woman the protagonist abandoned. This version took 35 weeks to reach the top spot, finally hitting No. 1 in February 2026. This slow burn proved critical for its survival against the accelerated decline rule.

Introduced in 2017, the accelerated decline rule was designed to flush out older hits and increase chart turnover. Under this system, if a song has been on the charts for 10 weeks and its streaming numbers drop for three consecutive weeks, the value of those streams is halved. The Guardian reports that the song’s erratic, slow ascent protected it from this precipitous drop, allowing it to maintain its presence long enough to establish a permanent hold on the summit.

The 19-week run was not consecutive, reflecting a volatile battle with global pop titans. The song was dislodged four times, each for a single week, by Harry Styles’ American Girls, Olivia Rodrigo’s Drop Dead, Ariana Grande’s Hate that I Made You Love Me, and Taylor Swift’s I Knew It, I Knew You.

When the duet launched, Dean was described as a mid-ranking singer receiving exposure from Fender’s stadium shows. However, the concurrent success of her second album, The Art of Loving, and the billion-streaming success of her song Man I Need, transformed the project. What began as a feature by Fender evolved into a peer-to-peer collaboration between two global stars.

The song's dominance has rewritten several other statistical benchmarks:

• 21st Century Record: Surpassed Drake’s One Dance (2016) after 16 weeks.
• 2020s Record: Surpassed Alex Warren’s Ordinary (2025) after 14 weeks.
• British Act Record: Surpassed Wet Wet Wet’s Love Is All Around (1995) in its 16th week.

Despite its British triumph, the song has seen limited penetration in the U.S. Market. According to Billboard, Rein Me In has peaked at No. 64 and currently sits at No. 69 on the Hot 100. In contrast, Dean has found more individual success in the U.S. With two top 10 songs, including So Easy (To Fall in Love).

The achievement has been hailed as a victory for homegrown British artists by Becca Monahan and Chris Austin of the Official Charts Company. The song's prestige was further cemented when it won song of the year at the 2026 BRIT Awards.

The current chart landscape remains precarious. While Rein Me In held the top spot this week, it did so after a tight seven-day battle with Dai Dai, the 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem by Shakira and Burna Boy. Billboard notes that Dai Dai led the midweek charts before ultimately finishing at No. 2, leaving the record-breaking duet to defend its position against the momentum of a global sporting event.