We’re almost at the point where this has stopped being boring and started being interesting again.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

That’s 15 weeks at number 1, and it remains miles ahead of the number 2 single. Fifteen weeks is enough to tie with Drake’s “One Dance” and Wet Wet Wet’s “Love Is All Around”. There are only two tracks left to beat. Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” lasted 16 weeks in 1991, and “Rein Me In” only needs one more week to match that. The all-time record is 18 weeks, set by Frankie Laine’s “I Believe” in 1953. That could happen, but “Rein Me In” did drop in streams this week and it could yet get hit by downweighting before making it to 18 weeks.

27. Sombr – “My Body Isn’t Ready”

(more…)

This won’t take long – it’s spectacularly uneventful singles chart.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

Yes, this again. “Rein Me In” has now been on the top 40 for 53 weeks without interruption. The all-time record is 54 (held by Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”), and obviously “Rein Me In” is going to shatter that. In an admittedly very quiet week, it returns to number 1 for a fourteenth week. This ties it with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”. Only four tracks have spent more weeks at number 1 – if it can manage another week (and it almost certainly will), then it will tie with Wet Wet Wet’s “Love is All Around” and Drake’s “One Dance” to be joint third.

(more…)

Well, someone still cares about being number one.

1. Taylor Swift – “I Knew It, I Knew You”

Two weeks, but that turns out to be because they held back over 40,000 CD copies to ship in week two. That accounts for more than half of its chart point this week; on streaming alone, it would have been number 7. That means we can be fairly sure that it won’t be number 1 next week. But hey, at least she has the satisfaction of stopping…

2. Olivia Rodrigo – “Stupid Song”

This is the release week single from her third album “You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love”, which enters the album chart as her third number 1. She also has “The Cure” at number 3 and “Drop Dead” at number 5, so this is still very much her week. The album has enough points to beat the rest of the top 10 combined, and while a majority of that comes from first-week physical sales, she would have been number 1 by a wide margin on streaming alone.

(more…)

You know, I think we might finally be rid of “Rein Me In”.

1. Taylor Swift – “I Knew It, I Knew You”

This is from the soundtrack of Toy Story 5, and yes, this collection of clips from previous Toy Story films is the official video. It’s a song written specifically for the film, from Jessie’s perspective. Taylor Swift doing her best Randy Newman, basically.

It’s her seventh UK number one single. The others are “Look What You Made Me Do” (2017), “Anti-Hero” (2022), “Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version” (2023), “Fortnight” (2024), “Opalite” (2025) and “The Fate of Ophelia” (2025). The list skews very heavily to the later part of her career, though there’s a degree of bad luck in there, since she had number 2 hits in 2009, 2012 and 2014.

(more…)

Look, someone can beat “Rein Me In”!

1. Ariana Grande – “Hate That I Made You Love Me”

This is the lead single from her eighth album, and her eighth number 1. The others are “Problem” (2014), “Bang Bang” (2014), “Thank U, Next” (2018), “7 Rings” (2019), “Break Up With Your Girlfriend I’m Bored” (2019), “Rain On Me” (2020) and “Positions” (2020). She’s been unlucky not to add more since then – she’s reached number 2 twice.

There is an asterisk here: it didn’t actually beat “Rein Me In” in streaming. It’s number 1 by a margin of under 5,000 copies thanks to first-week sales to fans in download and physical format. And that’s with “Rein Me In” dropping off quite heavily this week. There’s still a huge gap between “Rein Me In” and the rest of the chart, but it’s unlikely to return to number 1 next week, since Taylor Swift has a new single out.

(more…)

You know the drill by now.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

Not only is it seemingly unbeatable, but its streams surged again last week, so it’s still in no danger of going to downweighting – in its 49th week on the top 40 and its 13th week at number 1, it remains 30% ahead of the number 2 single. The most likely explanation for the surge is Olivia Dean headlining Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival.

It’s easier to have long runs at number 1 than it used to be, because nothing is deleted any more, and we’re measuring continuing listening rather than the initial purchase. Even so, 13 weeks is exceptional. Only six tracks have ever spent more than that at number 1. The all time record has stood at 18 weeks since 1953, and is held by Frankie Laine’s “I Believe”. But one more week will place “Rein Me In” in joint fifth alongside Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

2. Olivia Rodrigo – “The Cure”

This is the second single from her next album; the first one, “Drop Dead”, had a single week at number 1 (interrupting “Rein Me In”), but it’s holding up respectably, and it’s still in the top 10 after six weeks. “The Cure” is an interesting choice of single – it’s over five minutes long and sounds more like Boygenius at times. I like it, but it says something about Olivia Rodrigo’s star power that she can get something like this as high as number 2.

(more…)

Sorry, you want me to listen to how many Drake tracks?

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In” 

Twelve weeks. It needs one more to match Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”. If it gets past that marker, then the next target is Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” from 2017. As it happens, it’s not on course to be number 1 in the Sunday “first look” chart, but that’s because a new release by Olivia Rodrigo has a marginal lead over it; my guess is that “Rein Me In” will sustain itself better. It is dropping, but it still has a comfortable lead.

2. Drake – “Janice STFU”
3. Drake – “National Treasures”
6. Drake – “Make Them Cry”

These are the maximum three tracks from “Iceman”, which enters the album chart as his seventh number 1. Drake also released two surprise albums at the same time – “Maid of Honour”, which enters at 6, and “Habibti”, which is number 7. This seems rather like Drake’s try-hard way of proving he’s still a big deal, and to some extent he succeeds – he has three tracks in the top 10, and he would have placed another 34 tracks above the official number 75.

(more…)

Right, this is late, and it’s a busy week, so we’re going to dash through it.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

Eleven weeks at number 1. It still needs another two weeks to match Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”. Drake is currently ahead in the midweeks, but not by a wide enough margin that I’d be confident of him hanging on until Friday. By this point “Rein Me In” has clearly peaked, but it’s still an absolute mile ahead of the competition, with a ridiculous 46% lead over Tame Impala at number 2.

6. Michael Jackson – “Human Nature”

In most countries, this was released as the fifth single from “Thriller” in 1983. In the UK, it wasn’t, and so this qualifies as a new entry and Michael Jackson’s 45th top 10 hit. It might actually be more familiar to British audiences as the sample in SWV’s “Right Here”. It has, however, been given a music video to promote the movie, which seems to have pushed it into the top three tracks being streamed on the back of the movie. “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” continue to climb, while “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” gets disqualified under the three song rule. (It would have placed at number 9.) “I Want You Back”, technically a Jackson 5 track, is also climbing.

(more…)

In some ways, this is a relatively active chart. But not particularly in terms of new release singles breaking through…

1.  Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

Ten weeks at number one, which is now incontestably a record for a duet. And even after nearly a year on release, nothing else is even remotely close to it – it has a lead of around 65% over Tame Impala at number 2.

20. Alex Warren – “Fine Place To Die”

No, it’s not a Bond theme. It’s an Alex Warren song, and back to the standard format after “Fever Dream”. This is the second single from his upcoming album, but it isn’t really competing with “Fever Dream” at number 5. “Ordinary” remains seemingly immortal, and is currently at 21 in its 64th week on the top 40. We’ve certainly got to a point where zombie records like “Ordinary”, and reactivated back catalogue, are making it very hard to actual new releases to get headway.

(more…)

This is one of those singles charts that you would struggle to describe as “healthy”.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In” 

Returning to number one for a second time, and a ninth week in total. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” was heavily front loaded to its first week – it’s still at number 2, but “Rein Me In” has a huge lead over it and is, once again, growing in streams. It’s been on the top 40 for 45 weeks now. I wasn’t aware that this was even something that anyone bothered keeping track of, but apparently nine weeks equals the record for the most weeks at number one by a male-female duet, previously held by “You’re the One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. (That’s unless you think “Umbrella” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z counts, which it doesn’t. But “Rein Me In” will match it next week anyway.)

12. Noah Kahan – “Doors”
17. Noah Kahan – “The Great Divide”
20. Noah Kahan -“Porch Light” 

The maximum three tracks from Noah Kahan’s fourth album “The Great Divide”, which enters the album chart at number 1. Its predecessor “Stick Season” also reached number 1; his two previous albums were pre-breakthrough and didn’t chart.

(more…)