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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