More unreal numbers for Ella Langley.
As we near the end of the year, it’s becoming increasingly clear that 2026 will go down as the year of Ella Langley. Simply put, it’s hard to argue that she’s not just the hottest star in country music, but as music as a whole.
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.
Since its release on October 17th, it is now the longest-running #1 hit by a female artist this century, the only country song by a woman to triple up and go #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country and Country Airplay charts simultaneously. In case that wasn’t enough, thanks to the success of her sophomore album, Dandelion, which debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and sold 169,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week, Langley became just the second woman in history to hold the #1 album and song in the U.S. simultaneously with a country song/album.
Two weeks ago, she made U.S. history by officially capturing the longest-running #1 hit in U.S. history with 23 weeks (now 24), passing Mariah Carey’s long-standing record of 22 atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
Though Taylor Swift dethroned “Choosin’ Texas” this week on the Hot 100 with her new single, “Patient Zero,” Langley continued her hot streak this week by bringing home a whole lot of hardware from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Yesterday, the Alabama native scored a hefty seven brand-new certifications from the RIAA. While it shouldn’t be too surprising given her success over the past year, when you look at just how quickly these songs received their respective certifications, it’s quite mind-blowing.
Most notably and unsurprisingly, “Choosin’ Texas” has already skyrocketed all the way up to 7x Platinum, selling 7 million units in just under a year — 354 days to be exact. Arguably more impressively, Dandelion received a 2x Platinum certifications less than six months since its release on April 10th.
Keeping with the theme of rapid rises, her internet-breaking collaboration with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” has already sold over one million units, receiving a Platinum certifications just six months (165 days) since its release.
Additionally, other standouts from Dandelion such as “Be Her” (3x Platinum), “Loving Life Again” (Platinum), “Bottom of Your Boots” (Gold) and the title track (Platinum) also received hardware.
While all of this sounds great, the RIAA (and its subsequent certification process) can be a bit confusing, so let me explain how it all works.
Starting with their background, the RIAA is a trade organization consisting of major record labels and distributors that aims to “support and promote the creative and commercial vitality of music labels in the United States.” With that being said, however, their primary feature, in terms of public discussion of music, is undoubtedly their tracking of artists’ sales. These sales, of course, are tracked in terms of “gold,” “platinum,” and “diamond” certifications once a song or album hits the required criteria.
RIAA Criteria
When a single or album has sold at least 500,000 units, it is then eligible for a Gold certification; when it hits 1 million, it is eligible for Platinum certification. And finally, a song or record must sell 10 million units for it to be certified Diamond. There have been only 28 Diamond-Certified songs in country music history. And keep in mind that the RIAA doesn’t just keep a running tab on these awards and hand out plaques; an artist’s label will actively pursue certification by applying, submitting statistics, and paying a few hundred dollars to undergo an audit to verify the sales. And then… You must purchase a plaque for each person involved. Well, only if you want to…
As for what constitutes a “unit,” there are distinctions between sales regarding both singles and albums. Starting with singles, one paid download or 150 on-demand streams constitutes a unit. Albums, on the other hand, are a bit different. Given how popular streaming is in today’s age, there are three different ways an album can sell a single unit: 1) a permanent digital album or physical album sale, which basically means someone bought the record; 2) 10 permanent track downloads from the album, which laughably wouldn’t even be 1/3 of a Morgan Wallen album these days; or 3) 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album. Of course, streaming is how a bulk of the units are earned these days.
All the new hardware from the RIAA comes just a month before Langley looks to add to her ever-growing trophy collection at the 2026 CMA Awards — here she leads with a staggering nine nominations for Entertainer, Female Vocalist, Single, Song, Album of the Year and more.
Full List of New Ella Langley RIAA Certification
- “Choosin’ Texas” — 7x Platinum Single
- Dandelion — 2x Platinum Album
- “Be Her” — 3x Platinum Single
- “Dandelion” — Platinum Single
- “Loving Life Again” — Platinum Single
- “Bottom of Your Boots” — Gold Single
- “I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Morgan Wallen— Platinum Single
“Choosin’ Texas”
“Dandelion”
