“Every day I wake up, it’s like something more insane has happened,” Ella Langley says, reflecting on a year that has been filled with near-surreal achievements. Langley earned hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “Weren’t for the Wind” and her Riley Green collaboration “Don’t Mind If I Do” in 2025 — but this year, one smash single elevated her to history-making chart heights and arena headliner status.
On “Choosin’ Texas,” twangy steel guitar and line dance-ready rhythms underscore Langley’s heartrending tale of losing a paramour to a woman from the Lone Star State. At press time, it had spent six weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 — breaking a record previously held by Taylor Swift for the most weeks spent atop the chart for a song by a woman that also topped Hot Country Songs. It also became the first song by a woman country artist to simultaneously lead the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. The megahit, which embodies the 26-year-old’s modern yet timeless country vibe, marks a new career high for this year’s Women in Music Powerhouse.
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Her vivid, reflective 18-song album Dandelion, released in April on SAWGOD/Columbia Records, builds on the momentum from “Choosin’ Texas” with songs like “Loving Life Again” and “Be Her.” In March, the latter reached No. 2 on Hot Country Songs just beneath “Choosin’ Texas,” making Langley the first woman to hold the chart’s top two spots for multiple weeks, surpassing Beyoncé and Swift, who each did so for one. In April, Langley received five Academy of Country Music Awards nominations, including for female artist, song and single of the year.
“This record feels like a more mature version of my artistry,” she says. “I was walking into every [writing session] with vision boards and a 100-song reference playlist. A lot of Johnny Lee, Ronnie Milsap references. Think summer nights, fireflies, a bonfire lit. I love to dance. I grew up dancing, so I wanted something where, when I listen to songs, I listen to the instrumentation.”
Langley will bring those songs to life with her trademark rock star swagger and Stevie Nicks-meets-Jessi Colter style when she embarks on an arena tour behind the album in May — just part of a busy 2026 itinerary that also includes opening shows for Morgan Wallen and Eric Church.
Eric Ryan Anderson
Who do you think of when you think of a powerhouse artist?
Dolly Parton. She acts, sings, and every day she leaves the house looking incredible. I aspire to try; I’m in sweats most of the time. Miranda [Lambert], Reba [McEntire], Jo Dee Messina, Gretchen Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett. What I’m drawn to with strong women is their ability to be trailblazers. They’re not afraid to take risks. Just explore your artistry and have fun with it.
How have you dealt with your newfound fame?
I’m still figuring it out. I graduated [high school] with 32 kids [in my class] and I guess that benefited me, mainly because everyone is famous in a small town. It’s odd to view yourself like that. When I think of another artist, I view them as an artist. But when I view myself, it’s weird to think so many people out there that know me, that I don’t know them. But the fan experiences I’ve had — people come up and talk about what the music means — have been cool.
You wrote “Choosin’ Texas” with Miranda Lambert, as well as songwriters Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor. What do you recall about that session?
I was on a writers retreat with Miranda, our first time writing together. At a young age, she had a pet kangaroo. She told me how she got pulled over once with the kangaroo in the passenger seat. The kangaroo got her out of a ticket and she said, “Of course, I had Texas plates, too.” I went, “Well, she’s from Texas, I can tell…” Forty-five minutes later, we had the song written.
[Joybeth] is from Alabama. We met when neither of us had anything going on. We sat on the porch and smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds. We talked about who would be the dream [artist to] write for both of us and Miranda was one of them. After we wrote “Choosin’ Texas,” Miranda said, “I need to go get us some cigarettes,” and she took us to the gas station and she’s buying us some Marlboro Reds. It was so full circle.
Giorgio Armani pants from What a Girl Wants Vintage, vintage coat, Christian Louboutin shoes.
Eric Ryan Anderson
How did you celebrate “Choosin’ Texas” going to No. 1?
It was such a crazy moment. My label called, with my team on speaker, and it was just surreal. We all got together for the BMI No. 1 party recently, so it was great to be with Miranda, Joybeth and Luke. We loved the song when we wrote it, but none of us thought that it would be the song to do everything it’s doing. It keeps giving us a reason to celebrate new milestones.
What is on your career bucket list right now?
[Saturday Night Live] — to be a musical guest and then one day, maybe host. Sell out stadiums, that’s always been my goal. I want to start acting in the next year. I like thrillers but also love comedy. I’m not a big romantic movie lady, so probably something funnier or a little more intense.
“Choosin’ Texas” made history at No. 1 on the Hot 100 at the same time that Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9 debuted atop the Billboard 200. How do you think these simultaneous milestones might affect other women country artists who are trying to break through?
Seeing women at the top of the charts together is incredible. It’s a testament to the stories we’re telling and how they’re resonating with fans. I do hope it keeps opening doors for female artists in the future who’ve been waiting for their turn.
Do you feel a responsibility to mentor other women artists who are coming up?
Absolutely, and there’s so many talented women coming up right now. I’m so excited for what music’s going to look like in the next two to three years. Women are about to take over, I’m telling you that right now. It’s cool to be, hopefully, someone that someone else looks up to in that way.
This story appears in the April 18, 2026, issue of Billboard.
