It’s a historic hit.
In what seems like one of the greatest success stories in country music history, Ella Langley’s rise to all-genre superstardom has been one to behold over the past two years. If you’ve been paying close attention within the genre over the years, it was more than apparent that the Alabama native was bound to be a star, catching early buzz with tracks like “Country Boy’s Dream Girl,” “paint the town blue” and “That’s Why We Fight” with Koe Wetzel. With that being said, however, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the world-dominating, record-smashing success she’s had recently.
Launching off the success of her Riley Green collaboration, “you look like you love me” throughout 2024 and 2025, as well as other hits such as “weren’t for the wind,” the Alabama native has become nothing short of a phenomenon thanks to the megahit that is “Choosin’ Texas,” And, in turn, she has captured the hearts of nearly everyone in the country and the world over the past year.
Today, “Choosin’ Texas” officially stands alone as the longest-running #1 hit in U.S. history with 23 weeks, passing Mariah Carey’s long-standing record of 22 atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Just incredible:
She opened up to Billboard about her historic hit, and she admits she knew right away it would be on Dandelion, though she of course could never have imagined just how big it would become:
“When we wrote it, I knew it was going on the record. I honestly knew it was gonna be the lead single, and we loved that song, but I don’t think I could’ve ever imagined what’s happening with it right now. Like I said, every day I wake up and it’s doing something that I didn’t even know that was a goal that I could’ve had.
And it’s just, it’s nuts, it’s crazy to see the ownership that the fans have taken over it and the different demographics of people listening to the song is so cool. Just nuts to see everything happening.”
Ella co-wrote “Choosin’ Texas’ with Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor, and it was inspired by a story Miranda told Ella about her pet kangaroo, believe it or not:
“So I was on a writer’s retreat with Miranda, this is our first time that we had written together and obviously we were there with two others. We had written one song, and she was telling me the story, I learned at a young she had a pet kangaroo and I wanted to ask her about it. So I was like, tell me about this kangaroo that you had, I need to know.
And she did, she had a pet kangaroo, and she was telling me this story about how she got pulled over once. She had a kangaroo in the passenger seat, dog in the back, and she said she got pulled over, and the kangaroo ended up getting her out of a ticket. But she’s like, of course, I had Texas plates on too. and I went, ‘Well, she’s from Texas, I can tell.’ And just from that phrase, it kinda all hit us and the melody fell right out of me.
I went, ‘She’s from Texas. I can tell by the way she’s two-stepping ’round the room.’ Just like that. Miranda was like, ‘Like the one he went with, the girl he went with.’ And 45 minutes later we had that song written, and it was just it was such a cool experience.”
It’s hard to imagine a song that’s become as big as this one only took 45 minutes, but when inspiration strikes, sometimes that’s all it takes.
Ella also revealed that Miranda will executive produce her next album, and she has been a mentor for her as her career has taken off and really exploded over the last year or so:
“Well she’s actually working with me, she’s executive producing this next record of mine, and so this whole process with her has been… I’ve learned so much. There’s not a rulebook to this job, so to be able to have someone like her to ask questions, you know, should be doing this?
She’s like, ‘Hell yeah, you should be doing this.’ And so every day, just to send back-and-forth a little something about what the song is doing, and it’s it’s surprising her, too. She’s like, ‘My team is calling me every day freaking out about this song.'”
I imagine it’s been a saving grace having someone like Miranda on her side to help her navigate this wild journey, and they certainly make magic together.
Ella is one of only ten women in this century to have a solo top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Ella is of course very proud to be part of that elite company, and she says she really can’t believe it’s happening to her. At this rate, Ella will only continue to extend the record with “Choosin’ Texas,” and it sounds like she’s working on new music too, and seeing as she’s working with Miranda again, I think we’re in for another stellar project.
You can watch the full interview below.
“Choosin’ Texas”
