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sam fender and olivia dean's 'rein me in' becomes longest-running no. 1 uk single

by eddie chau
published aug 04, 2026
read time 1 minute read
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british singers and songwriters sam fender and olivia dean can boast that they’ve had a long-running accomplishment.
the duo’s 2025 song “rein me in” has been at the top of the u.k. charts for 19 weeks, making it the longest-running no. 1 single in the united kingdom, according to pitchfork.
“rein me in” has broken a 73-year record, which was held by frankie laine’s song “i believe,” which held the distinction for 18 weeks in 1953.
in an interview with official charts company, fender said he was “completely lost for words” at the accomplishment.
“thank you so much to olivia dean and the fans for making this song the juggernaut that it is. can’t believe we broke the u.k. record!” said fender.
dean celebrated the milestone over the weekend while headlining the lollapalooza music festival, where she brought fender out on stage to perform the single together, marking the first time they performed “rein me in” in the united states.

re-recorded duet

“rein me in” was originally recorded as a song performed solo by fender that appeared on his third studio album, 2025’s “people watching.”
during a june 6, 2025 show at london stadium, fender performed the song alongside dean, with videos of the performance going viral online, clash music reported.
the song was re-recorded as a duet with dean and released on june 30, 2025, as a sixth single from fender’s album. “rein me in” slowly climbed the charts and hit no. 1 in the u.k. in february.
pitchfork reported only four other songs momentarily dethroned the duet before it returned to the top spot: 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.”
the duet version of “rein me in” won song of the year at the 2026 brit awards.
eddie chau
eddie chau

eddie chau is a web editor at toronto sun. born and raised in toronto, chau was previously a multimedia journalist with the welland tribune, managing editor at dunnville chronicle, and sports editor at simcoe reformer. chau has been a web editor with toronto sun and canoe since 2016. he holds a bachelor of journalism from ryerson university, graduating in 2004.

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