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.

In fact, it says something about her star power that she can get anything to enter at number 2. “The Cure” isn’t the only new entry this week, but as you’ll see below, new releases really are struggling to cut through while the long tail dominates the top 40. There are 14 back catalogue tracks in the top 40 – and another six tracks that are still on their first run, but have been on the top 75 for over thirty weeks.

18. Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams”
24. Fleetwood Mac – “Everywhere”

Uh… so, apparently Fleetwood Mac tracks are going viral again, and have achieved enough of a week-on-week increase to escape the downweighting rule.

“Dreams” reached number 24 on release in 1977, and reached number 35 on a previous viral surge in 2020. It’s one of those tracks that’s forever hanging around the lower reaches of the top 100. Number 18 still places it below two cover versions. The Corrs’ version reached number 6 in 1998, and a cover by Deep Dish featuring Stevie Nicks reached number 14 in 2006. (And no, it wasn’t just a sample credit, she really did re-record it for a dance version.)

“Everywhere” peaked at number 4 in 1988, and stood as Fleetwood Mac’s last top 40 hit single (until “Landslide” was added to the list earlier this year). The video is an adaptation of the Alfred Noyes poem “The Highwayman” (1906).

25. Drake – “Shabang”

A technical new entry under the three-song rule, as it overtakes “Make Them Cry” to qualify for the chart as Drake’s third track. The Drake tracks were all in the top 10 last week, so clearly “Make Them Cry” would have tailed off heavily. “National Treasure” also drops from 3 to 19. The official single “Janice STFU” does better, though, holding on at a respectable number 6 for its second week.

27. Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas – “Blessings” 

No, not the current Calvin Harris single – that’s at number 46. (And climbing, to be fair- we might see it yet.) This is the track that reached number 3 last year. It seems to be here because Douglas performed it at Big Weekend.

40. Natasha Bedingfield – “Unwritten” 

Another track that hangs around in the lower reaches quite a lot, though it’s had a surge of interest in the last few weeks. It reached number 6 on release in 2004.

This week’s climbers:

• “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson climbs back to number 3, its peak on the current run. The other two Jackson tracks – “Beat It” and “Human Nature” – fall to 10 and 11.
• “Go” by the Chemical Brothers climbs 7-4.
• “Free Your Mind” by Prospa & Cloonee climbs 22-17.
• “Talk to You” by ANOTR & 54 Ultra climbs 34-21.
• “Material Lover” by Sienna Spiro climbs 23-22.

There’s one new entry and six re-entries this week (the last one is “Stateside” by PinkPantheress fluctuating around the 40 mark and re-entering at 38). The six tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Golden” by HUNTR/X, which re-entered at 39 last week.
• “Nice to Each Other” by Olivia Dean, which re-entered at 40 last week.
• “Doors” by Noah Kahan, which entered at 12 and lasted four weeks.
• “Bangaranga” by Dara, after a single week at number 21.
• “The Visitor” by Sienna Spiro, which re-entered in the 30s two weeks ago.
• “Make Them Cry” by Drake, which gets starred out under the three song rule after a single week at number 6.
• “The Great Divide” by Noah Kahan, which re-entered four weeks ago on the back of the album release.

On the album chart:

1. Maisie Peters – “Florescence” 

Her third album, her second number one. It’s here overwhelmingly on first-week physical sales, which give it a very marginal lead over Michael Jackson’s “The Essential” (the equivalent of 262 sales).

9. Michael Ball – “Glow” 

On the low side for a Michael Ball album – you have to go back to 2014 to find an album that placed lower (and that one was an outlier).

17. Yungblud – “Idols” 

Special edition re-issue. It reached number 1 on release last July.

18. Bleachers – “Everyone for Ten Minutes” 

Their fifth album, but only the second to chart in the UK. Its predecessor reached number 5.