She’s back.
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 in 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.
Last month, she made U.S. history by officially capturing 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.
Throughout October, however, Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” have been noticeably absent from the top of the chart. Of course, this is due to Taylor Swift doing what she does best and dropping a four-song deluxe edition to her record-breaking 2025 album, The Life of a Showgirl. In typical Swift fashion, she released a piano and acoustic version of the deluxe album’s lead single, “Patient Zero,” also selling limited edition CD versions for a 24-hour timeframe.
Unsurprisingly, the chart and sales-gaming from Swift allowed “Patient Zero” to dethrone “Choosin’ Texas” for three straight weeks throughout the month. With that being said, that all changed today.
This afternoon, Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” officially returned to the top of the Hot 100 and extended its record-setting 25th week at #1, garnering 20 million official streams, 58.6 million airplays on radio and 4,000 units sold. Following the aforementioned block from Swift, this marks the seventh different time that the smash hit has returned to the top of the chart since its release on October 17, 2025, second only to “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which has returned to #1 eight times since 1994.
Diving further into Langley’s dominance over the chart throughout the year, only nine songs other than “Choosin’ Texas” have reached #1 on the Hot 100, highlighted by the likes of Swift’s “Patient Zero” and “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Drake’s “Janice STFU” and Bad Bunny’s “DtMF.”
Notably, “Choosin’ Texas” has officially passed Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” for the second-longest #1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. With 46 weeks and counting, Langley only needs to remain at #1 on the chart for five more weeks to break Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha’s record of 50 with “Meant To Be.”
Longest-Running Billboard Hot 100 #1 Hits
1. “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley (25 weeks)
2. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey (22 weeks)
T3. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey (19 weeks)
T3. “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus (19 weeks)
4. “Last Night” – Morgan Wallen (16 weeks)
5. “Despacito” – Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber (16 weeks)
6. “One Sweet Day” – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (16 weeks)
7. “As It Was” – Harry Styles (15 weeks)
“Choosin’ Texas”
