Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” Isn’t a Hit. It’s a New Phenomenon
When Saving Country Music named Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” the 2025 Single of the Year, there was mostly agreement and acceptance, but a few grumbles. Why were we putting so much attention behind a mainstream star who already had lots of momentum behind her? Wouldn’t an independent artist benefit more from the attention?
But that’s to misunderstand just exactly what Ella Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” is accomplishing right now, and in ways that could positively affect all of country music, including independent and traditional country artists.
“Choosin Texas” had already set records heading into 2026. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in early December. Not even Langley’s award-winning hit duet with Riley Green “You Look Like You Love Me” achieved that. It stalled at #7 on the charts.
Then later in December, “Choosin’ Texas” reached the Top 10 on the MediaBase Country Radio chart, taking only eight weeks to get there. That made it the quickest radio single from a woman in country to reach the Top 10 in a decade—a record previously held by Lainey Wilson’s “Watermelon Moonshine” that took 12 weeks to get to the Top 10. “Choosin’ Texas” currently sits at #6 on country radio, and will be at #1 in a matter of weeks.
But the “Choosin’ Texas” phenomenon is now starting to break out of the country realm into the wide consciousness, and puncture the zeitgeist. This week, the song went Top 5 in the Billboard Hot 100. That means that a traditional country song about two-stepping and losing your lover is the 5th most popular song in all of music. It zoomed forward from the #46 spot the previous week, facilitated by the evacuation of Christmas music off the chart.
We very well could be witnessing the rise of biggest traditional country single in the last 20 years. Zach Top’s “I Never Lie” set the world on fire, but could only rise to #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and #24 on the Hot 100.
And as Billboard writer Kyle Denis explains, “A solo top five placement on Billboard’s all-genre singles chart—especially as a female country artist—is a particularly impressive achievement. And she did it without tapping a pop star for a remix!”
And “Choosin’ Texas” isn’t benefiting from any particular viral moment or Tik-Tok campaign. It’s all based off of the organic appeal of the song co-written by Miranda Lambert with Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick. All indications are the song still has plenty of upside potential, especially since it still hasn’t peaked at radio.
And maybe most importantly, Ella Langley is proving that a traditional country song can go straight to the top. We all know what a copycat business country music is. As soon as one thing works, everyone else rushes to try to mimic it, or find the next hot thing. In this case, they’ll be looking for genuine country heartbreak songs and the artists that sing them. That’s how Ella Langely’s rising tide raises the boats for all traditional country artists.
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January 7, 2026 @ 9:10 am
Good to see a great song get the success it deserves.
January 8, 2026 @ 2:55 pm
Overrated…still. Very basic, nothing
at all special song. 🤷
January 7, 2026 @ 9:30 am
Ella over Lainey any day, way more likable and genuine
January 7, 2026 @ 2:31 pm
I’m not sure I agree with that. They’re both likeable and are undoubtedly net positives to mainstream country music. I definitely prefer Ella’s music, but Lainey is great, too.
January 8, 2026 @ 3:50 am
Genuine? Wanna look up her pop song with no accent at all?
January 9, 2026 @ 12:40 pm
Or how about both? If there can be 7 generic Jordan’s on the chart at the same time, there is room for multiple women.
January 7, 2026 @ 9:41 am
Cool moment for us all to enjoy.
SCM is definitely the tip of the spear in my music discovery but shout out to JJ – he brings a woman on stage to sing gold dust woman, or night moves, or whatever, and it’s always 3 years until the world catches on but man he just doesn’t miss.
January 7, 2026 @ 10:03 am
Really happy for Ella – she seems very genuine and one that has put in years of hard work. I actually like her sound & listen to some of her music since she sings more traditional country songs. Happy to see Miranda embrace her and other ladies in the genre. I also appreciate country music that isn’t overproduced or busy sounding and the songs I’ve regularly listened to of Ella’s are easy on the ears that way. I hope to see more lady artists taking this road and the machine of Nashville latching on to this as the next big thing. That’d be a refreshing turn of events that’s about 20 years overdue.
January 7, 2026 @ 10:27 am
It’s a fine song and Ella seems like a fine recipient of hit song roulette.
The question that this article spurred for me, though, is: who still listens to radio? I don’t mean that in a “haha old people” sense. But when we say that the song hasn’t peaked on radio, what demographic are we thinking is still not entirely tapped?
January 7, 2026 @ 10:42 am
Radio still dominates when it comes to passive listeners, and what people listen to in their cars. The reason this song could still have upside potential is not just because it still needs to peak at #1 in country, but my guess is we’ll now start to hear it on pop radio. That’s what happens when you hit the Top 10 of the Hot 100.
Also, the song was just released in October. When you factor in the Holiday, it’s basically still a very new song. There’s a very good chance this is the “song of the summer” in 2026, at least in country. It still has months of shelf life for sure.
January 7, 2026 @ 10:28 am
‘Choosing Texas’ shows that a good melody and decent songwriting works. I really hope the trend of relying on Tiktok videos and Instagram clips to market songs dies out. That’s like the 2010 version of saying a song has to be used by TV and Youtube commercials to be marketable.
January 7, 2026 @ 10:41 am
Love her shes aweskme
January 7, 2026 @ 11:08 am
“ And “Choosin’ Texas” isn’t benefiting from any particular viral moment or Tik-Tok campaign. It’s all based off of the organic appeal of the song co-written by Miranda Lambert with Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick. ”
The first sentence is false. The second sentence is true. Song has been viral on tik tok for a couple months
January 7, 2026 @ 11:42 am
Prove it. I don’t see anyone dancing to it on TikTok like Brook & Dunn’s “Neon Moon” a few years ago. If you have a link that proves “Choosin’ Texas” is benefiting from a TikTok campaign, include the link in the reply and I’ll apologize to you.
January 8, 2026 @ 9:20 am
I can attest – my 14 y.o. daughter posted she and me two-stepping on the back patio to this song. She heard it on TT – she knew dad played it in the car – and then did what the young’uns do – she videoed us dancing to it and posted. I’d share a link but I’m such a “boomer” I don’t have TT. When she knows the song, it’s on TT. When I know the song, the Shaman of SCM suggested a listen. Those worlds occasionally collide.
January 8, 2026 @ 9:36 am
That doesn’t make it a choreographed campaign nor does it make viral. These viral examples mentioned are tens to hundreds of thousands of people performing the same unique choreographed dance to the same song on the platform.
January 7, 2026 @ 12:22 pm
This also came up in the Song of the Year discussion. Are people using ‘Choosin’ Texas” in TikToks, and is that helping the viral nature of the song? Absolutely. Is that the primary driver behind the song like we’ve seen from tracks from “Austin” by Dasha, or “Carrying Your Love With Me” from George Strait, or like “Neon Moon” as Hoptowntiger references? No.
The appeal for this song is incredibly broad based. Whenever I report on songs like this, I usually get a lot of blow back from folks who will find something to criticize about it just because it’s popular. That’s not really the case here.
January 7, 2026 @ 11:10 am
Great song. Can easily get stuck in your head.
January 7, 2026 @ 11:23 am
I saw her in a credit card commercial over the holidays. Is this evidence of turfing? Not taking anything away from Ella or the song, but it seems odd that a relatively unaccomplished singer would be hired to do a commercial for an upscale credit card like Sapphire Reserve.
January 7, 2026 @ 4:29 pm
She had already established herself prior to landing the commercial campaign, though, with “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Weren’t For The Wind”. So she was far from “unaccomplished” at the time I saw one of those commercials for the first time.
January 8, 2026 @ 5:50 am
Well, if I’m not aware of an artist, they’re unaccomplished. 🙂
I’m kidding. Thanks for straightening me out.
January 7, 2026 @ 11:43 am
Love this song shes amazing
January 7, 2026 @ 12:15 pm
On the last post I said the song had crossover appeal, no way did I imagine it reaching #5 on the Hot 100 though! That is major.
Tik tok did have a part, it cannot be denied. I first heard a snippet of the song on the app, before it was released, so there was promo and an effort to drum up interest there. But Ella is a legit artist and those other Tik Tok songs only sound good for about 20 seconds. This song is the real deal.
January 7, 2026 @ 4:33 pm
In fairness its Billboard Hot 100 peak was slightly due to the enormous exodus of Christmas music from the chart: which also resulted in disproportionately high Billboard Hot 100 peaks for singles that………….unlike “Choosin’ Texas”…………are songs that are merely played a lot on country radio but are getting little-to-no buzz elsewhere such as HARDY’s “Favorite Country Song” and George Birge’s “It Won’t Be Long”.
In any other scenario those latter two singles wouldn’t have even gone Top 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 because of the complete non-events they are.
But yeah: no doubt “Chossin’ Texas” is legitimately huge either way.
January 7, 2026 @ 12:52 pm
Good song though I dont get all the glazing over it.
January 7, 2026 @ 1:39 pm
“In this case, they’ll be looking for genuine country heartbreak songs and the artists that sing them.” From your lips to God’s ears. Really hoping Mae Estes is the next to get carried up from the popularity of Ella’s song. She opened for many major names last year, including Ella, has played the Opry several times (most recently Opry at the Ryman), and is getting radio play for her latest single “I Better Go”. Never strays from her Arkansas country roots.
January 10, 2026 @ 6:20 am
I love Mae Estes 🙌🙌🙌
January 7, 2026 @ 1:52 pm
Love Ella Langley.
January 7, 2026 @ 2:07 pm
She everything Beyoncé wanted to be, but more importantly, her success highlights something fundamental. Women were always capable of reaching this level of mainstream impact; the difference is that they’re now releasing music that resonates equally with both men and women. This is a song with shared emotional ground— a story and a sound that a broad audience can agree on and connect with. no more men are bad, or I am woman hear me roar nonsense.
I genuinely like this song, and I’m glad to see it becoming a hit. Hopefully, this signals a shift and encourages Nashville to produce more music in this vein—authentic, universal, and unapologetically country.
January 7, 2026 @ 4:21 pm
The success of this song underscores the genuine importance songs like Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” have played in acclimating the broader casual listening demographics’ palette to even rootsier, honky-tonk sensible music after the fact.
I think another reason this song has really taken flight right out of the gate……………is because it has a bit of a 70s’ Fleetwood Mac-adjacent feel in terms of its airy, spacious atmosphere and sentiment (albeit permeated with whiffs of pedal steel, of course). So while I still don’t see this becoming a Mainstream Top 40 hit, I CAN see this really take off on both Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 radio which lean toward older listeners who may likely find this song’s sound touch a soft spot in their hearts reminiscing on that California country sound with a bit more twang.
January 8, 2026 @ 7:38 am
This, and the fact that, going by some of the buzz, some have said that Ella looks like a combination of Jessi Colter and Linda Ronstadt.
January 14, 2026 @ 4:05 pm
Believe it or not, the mainstream CHR/Top 40 request-driven program “Liveline” reports that they are getting TONS of requests for “Choosin’ Texas.” It doesn’t appear any big CHR stations are playing it in regular rotation, but never say never.
It is already crossing over to Hot AC/Adult CHR in some markets, including San Antonio.
January 7, 2026 @ 4:36 pm
The turnover for female country artists is staggering. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Carly Pierce was all the rave? Not their fault, but it seems the “establishment” quickly lifts them up and then moves on to the next pretty face.
Ella has already had to take a break, and she’s just getting started. We will see how her staying power goes.
If her future songs are similar to the ones already, especially this one, let’s hope she stays around awhile.
January 7, 2026 @ 5:30 pm
Maybe Mr. Sheridan will get Ella on an episode or two of “Landman”, like he did for Lainey and “Yellowstone”.
January 8, 2026 @ 4:18 pm
Carly Pearce never really impacted the Billboard Hot 100 (and streaming charts) remotely as heavily as Langley has in recent months, though.
Even Lainey Wilson………….despite on paper being someone you’d absolutely expect to achieve that mainstream crossover appeal with her immense charisma and personality…………hasn’t really accomplished this in earnest yet with the closest she’s come to date being her feature on Jelly Roll’s “Save Me”.
January 7, 2026 @ 5:41 pm
What is this? AI?
https://youtu.be/Ysm88dMLbxA?si=KRHYQIH4CyLFwqqa
January 7, 2026 @ 10:11 pm
I found this song on YouTube back in October and she had me at the first listen. I’m an old long time country fan but don’t hear many songs that grab me like this one does. I’m just hoping Ella will pay it forward and make more opportunities for female artists.
January 8, 2026 @ 6:08 am
Love it
January 8, 2026 @ 9:00 am
This new trad. movement caught fire with Sturgill, Stapleton, Jinks, and Childers back in 2014, didn’t it? I’ve benefited from it immensely. It’s peaking now with Zach Top, Ella, Riley Green, etc… I’m loving it, but get ready for pendulum to swing the other way soon. It always does. I’m hoping more great artists, like Joe Stamm, Kendell Marvel, and Channing Wilson can sneak in through the door before it closes. Of course, these days, is there even a door anymore?? Does it matter? Keep it coming, that’s all I can say!
As always, great article.
January 8, 2026 @ 9:14 am
The Sturgill, Stapleton, Jinks moment felt more like an independent country moment than a distinctly traditionalist one. It certainly helped seed what we’re seeing from Zach Top and this Ella song right now, but THIS is the new traditionalist, or neotraditionalist movement. Honestly, when it lost steam was in the middle of 2025. It might be picking back up momentum in 2026 with “Choosin’ Texas.”
January 8, 2026 @ 10:10 am
I don’t get the love for this song.
January 9, 2026 @ 6:31 am
…looks like it even reached camelot.
January 8, 2026 @ 3:12 pm
I know George Jones would like her a so do I
January 9, 2026 @ 5:53 am
1800 miles from music rooow
January 11, 2026 @ 11:57 am
There’s a basement under that library, tread easy…
January 9, 2026 @ 6:44 am
It’s a great song, loved it first time I heard it, kinda like Midland’s ‘Drinking Problem’, I know they take a rash of crap, but that song just pulled all the levers.
Some one posted about the Tracy Lawrence interview with her and I watched, aside from her looks, she is so interesting to listen to the way she talks and describes her upbringing, she’s someone everyone can relate to on some level.
Good luck to her and hopefully the suits don’t exploit her for short term gains.
January 10, 2026 @ 11:27 pm
That this song is becoming a phenomenon–deservedly or not–is very good mainstream news for anyone who likes traditional-leaning country, reminiscent of the 80s or 90s. As a result, I now forgive Ella for her recent participation in BigXthaPlug’s god-awful “country” duets album.
January 11, 2026 @ 7:39 am
That’s a #5 song? Wow. The lyrics are meandering at best. No hook
January 15, 2026 @ 11:17 am
Everything from “She’s from Texas / I can tell by the way” to “He’s choosin’ Texas / I can tell.” is the hook, and it’s definitely a catchy one.