Sam Fender & Olivia Dean's 'Rein Me In' Duet Rewrites UK Chart History With 17 Weeks at No. 1

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's duet single 'Rein Me In' has racked up 17 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart as of July 2026. The track began its climb in February 2026 and took 35 weeks total inside the Top 40 before reaching the summit — surpassing the record previously held by Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud', which took 19 weeks to hit No. 1 back in 2014. According to Far Out Magazine, one more week at the top would tie 'Rein Me In' with the longest-running No. 1 in UK chart history: Frankie Laine's 18 non-consecutive weeks, a record standing since 1953 — 73 years.

How the song evolved

'Rein Me In' started life as a solo lead single from Sam Fender's third album, People Watching (2025). Later that year, Fender brought in Olivia Dean to re-record it as a duet — and it's this collaborative version that caught fire on social media.

Heavy circulation on Instagram and TikTok gave the 2025 track a second life in early 2026, turning it into a cross-generational mainstream phenomenon. Despite both artists being backed by major labels, 'Rein Me In' is still generally filed under indie pop.

Why the UK chart record keeps moving

The UK's official Singles Chart began counting digital downloads in 2004 and added streaming data in 2014, raising the ceiling for how long a song can realistically dominate compared to the physical-sales era. For comparison, Drake's 'One Dance' held the UK No. 1 for 15 consecutive weeks in 2016, a landmark of the early streaming era. 'Rein Me In' has already outpaced that benchmark on multiple counts.