An incredibly humble response, as always.
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.
After what can only be described as one of the most unprecedented rises for a song and artist in music history, over the past 11 months, “Choosin’ Texas” went on to become 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.
Additionally, she’d capture other records, such as becoming the first country artist in history to hold the Top 2 songs in the United States simultaneously for more than one week, allowing country music to occupy the entirety of the Top 5, thanks to both “Choosin’ Texas” and her Morgan Wallen collaboration, “I Can’t Love You Anymore” and more.
After tying Mariah Carey’s long-standing Hot 100 record with “All I Want For Christmas Is You” last week, yesterday, Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” officially surpassed it as the longest-running #1 hit in U.S. history with 23 weeks.
Undeniably, “Choosin’ Texas'” rise to the top of music history is one of the biggest success stories we’ve seen in recent music history. Unlike many stars today, Langley comes from incredibly humble roots, growing up extremely poor in Hope Hull, Alabama, attending Auburn University for two years before moving to Nashville to pursue music in 2019.
Unlike some stars today, Langley paid her dues tenfold, grinding it out in empty bars, working on her craft, before catching lightning in a bottle with the aforementioned early hits and subsequently blowing all expectations out of the water with “Choosin’ Texas.”
It’s been pretty clear, throughout her entire rise to the top over the past year, that Langley has remained one of the most humble, down-to-earth superstars in country music — or any genre for that matter. And her response to “Choosin’ Texas” etching her name in U.S. history was no different. Taking to Instagram yesterday evening, the Alabama native uploaded an incredibly candid response from her backyard.
Langley would open the video at a loss for words, noting that she’s trying to find the right words to say to describe the historic moment. She’d then go on to thank the fans for listening and loving the song over the past year.
“I’m genuinely trying to find the words to help explain what’s going on in my brain today… What?! I don’t know! Thank you so much for loving this song, for listening to it. I just don’t even know what to say at this point. I’m running out of hyperboles to describe how I feel, so I’ll just let my dog in the background show his excitement.”
After she paused for a minute to let her dog show his excitement and bark, Langley would then go on to explain the impact the song has had on the lives of her and her loved ones. Thanking the fans once again, she’d say “Choosin’ Texas” changed her life, co-writers Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor’s lives and her family’s lives.
“Thank you — just thank you so much. It’s changing my life; it’s changing lives of the writers of the song. It’s changing lives of my family, and it’s truly growing an atmosphere for something I’m going to be able to do for the rest of my life.
Today doesn’t feel like a real thing. It feels fake, and somebody’s going to come in and be like, ‘Haha, we’re kidding the whole time — just kidding.’ But I’m going to go out and celebrate tonight, and I’m really excited to just experience a moment like this in my life. I don’t know how else to say it. Just thank you so much.”
As previously mentioned, there’s few artists in country music — or all of music, for that matter — that deserve this more than Langley. You truly love to see a moment like this from one of the genre’s most influential stars.
“Choosin’ Texas”
