Sam Fender and Olivia Dean break UK chart record as they target Mariah Carey
Sam Fender breaks UK record, targets Mariah Carey
Rein Me In has surpassed Frankie Laine's 1953 chart-topper I Believe to become the UK's longest-running number 1 outright. The milestone was confirmed on Friday evening, a week after the song had levelled the old mark and Sam Fender urged fans to keep streaming and downloading it for the 19th week needed.The duet with Olivia Dean now holds the record outright, having overtaken long stints at number 1 from Whitney Houston, Wet Wet Wet and Bryan Adams. Originally released in summer 2025, Rein Me In surged in popularity after fans saw Sam and Olivia perform it at his stadium gigs. It went on to win the Brit Award for Song of the Year and finally reached number 1 some 35 weeks after release, rarely leaving the top spot since.

Sights set on Mariah Carey

Sam and Olivia now have Mariah Carey's global record in sight. Carey has spent 22 weeks at number 1 in America with All I Want for Christmas at different times since it was released in 1994. For Rein Me In to take the world record, it needs to remain at the top for four more weeks.Delighted to break the UK record, Sam commented: “I’m completely lost for words, thank you so much to Olivia Dean and the fans for making this song the juggernaut that it is.”There will have been celebrations in North Shields on Friday night as the record was confirmed.