1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nThat’s 19 weeks, and that\u00a0is<\/em> an all-time record, breaking last week’s tie with Frankie Laine’s “I Believe” from 1953. It should be noted that both of them did it with interrupted runs, and the record for the longest\u00a0single<\/em> run at number 1 is still 16 weeks, held by Bryan Adams. I’ve written before about whether this is really comparable with earlier years, since in theory you should expect a streaming chart (which picks up\u00a0continued<\/em> listening) to result in major hits sticking around for longer than a pure sales chart (which picks the point when people\u00a0started\u00a0<\/em>listening).<\/p>\nNineteen weeks is exceptional even in the modern era. It’s tempting to say that it’s unlikely to be broken any time soon, even under current chart rules. But then again, “Last Christmas” has been racking up weeks at number 1 in five out of the last six years. It currently has a total of 12 weeks, and sustaining that performance for another three or four years might be a stretch even if the chart rules aren’t changed in some way in the interim – and the continued dominance of zombie records must surely be causing some industry concern.<\/p>\n
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“Rein Me In” scrapes over the line to take its 19th week. Improbably, the challenger at number 2 is\u00a0“Dai Dai” by Shakira & Burna Boy<\/strong>, somehow untroubled by the fact that the World Cup is over. But “Rein Me In” only beat it by the equivalent of 2,404 sales. That’s accounted for by a late surge of downloads caused by them asking fans to get them over the line. Consumption has fallen two weeks in a row, so it’s very possible that the track finally gets downweighted next week, which will put an end to its time at number 1. Then again, it’s also possible that publicity from setting the record will get some extra attention to the record – plenty of people still claim to be hearing it for the first time – and give it a one week boost that resets the clock.<\/p>\n16. Katseye – “Animal”<\/strong><\/p>\n