Sam Fender and Olivia Dean break UK chart record with ‘Rein Me In’ reaching number one after 35 weeks

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have made UK chart history as their collaboration “Rein Me In” reached number one after spending 35 consecutive weeks in the Top 40. The achievement sets a new record for the longest continuous Top 40 run before climbing to the top spot, surpassing Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud,” which previously held the record with 19 weeks.

The soulful pop-rock duet, a reworked version of a track from Fender’s Mercury Prize-winning album “People Watching,” includes a newly written verse performed by Dean, offering a female perspective and transforming the song into a lyrical dialogue about the end of a relationship. Fender credited the song’s gradual rise to the influence of online platforms, suggesting that its steady popularity was driven by listeners discovering and sharing it over time.

Although Fender has achieved three UK number one albums, this marks his first number one single. One of his best-known tracks, “Seventeen Going Under,” previously peaked at number three. For Dean, the chart summit is more familiar territory. She recently topped the charts with “Man I Need” and currently holds multiple positions in the singles chart.

Elsewhere in the charts, Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life” returned to its original peak position of number three nearly a decade after release, boosted by nostalgia trends on social media. Bad Bunny secured fifth place with “DtMF.” In the albums chart, Charli XCX claimed her third number one album with the soundtrack to the film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” marking a stylistic shift from her recent pop releases. The week highlights significant milestones for several major artists across the UK music scene.