Drake Interpolates “Choosin’ Texas” for New Version of Hit Song

Random Notes 28 Comments


Thank goodness we’re not talking about a remix of Ella Langley’s now historic #1 “Choosin’ Texas” featuring Canadian hip-hop artist Drake. About a month or so ago, that’s what we were staring into the teeth of when Drake released a teaser of a song that sounded like his take on what has now become the longest-running #1 in American music history, and the idea was that Ella would co-sign or appear on it as a featured artist.

What’s cool about “Choosin’ Texas” is that it got all the way to #1 without a collaboration or a remix. Perhaps now that it’s officially achieved the all-time #1, this is less important if it stands alone from here on out. But listening to Drake’s take on the song, it’s a good thing Ella Langley’s name isn’t associated with it at all (or the name “Choosin’ Texas”) aside from in the writing credits.

Released on October 2nd by Drake on a deluxe edition of his latest record called Habibti (FOMO), the song called “Solar Eclipse” is basically a reworking of “Choosin’ Texas,” just with different lyrics, and a totally different vibe for the hip-hop world. Maybe there’s a chance it will entice some folks from the world of hip-hop to give the original “Choosin’ Texas” a spin. It’s doubtful if many actual country fans will be thumpin’ “Solar Eclipse” anytime soon. But who knows.

“Choosin’ Texas” currently sits at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind Taylor Swift’s new song “Patient Zero.” It probably hasn’t been emphasized enough that Swift likely did Ella Langley a solid by holding off the deluxe edition of her latest album until “Choosin’ Texas” had officially secured the all-time #1 record. Even still, don’t be surprised if “Choosin’ Texas” retakes the #1 spot at some point before we get into the Holiday music season, adding a few more weeks to its tenure.

But perhaps the most interesting footnote about the Billboard Hot 100 this week is how Drake’s “Choosin’ Texas” take comes in at #5. That basically means there are two versions of “Choosin’ Texas” in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 at the same time—likely another historical benchmark for the song. Though Drake’s take feels like a completely different song, original writers Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor are still credited. Officially, “Solar Eclipse” is an “interpolation” of “Choosin’ Texas” as opposed to a remix or collaboration.


Whatever you want to call it (and many country fans might call it just outright bad), you can’t deny that Drake’s “Solar Eclipse” is hugely successful. Any song that can crack the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 is achieving a major feat. This also undercuts some of the argument that all the enthusiasm for “Choosin’ Texas” is manufactured, or that it’s an outright psyop as some have claimed, with so many swearing they “never heard” the song as it broke the all-time record.

It’s true that we live in a more fractured, bifurcated, and Balkanized version of culture than ever before. It’s not out of the question that some truly haven’t heard “Choosin’ Texas” previously. But now with Drake’s version and it’s strong chart success, the song is certainly much more inescapable, at least in some form, and across the cultural divide.

Meanwhile, Ella Langley doesn’t have to navigate any weird entanglements or obligations by directly signing off on or appearing on Drake’s take of the song. She can simply pocket the royalty money, perhaps enjoy a slight attention boost from it, but still be her own woman, which is what was so cool about “Choosin’ Texas” and its overwhelming success to begin with.

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