Ella Langley – Choosin’ Texas (Live at CMA Awards 2025)

Written In Thirty Minutes After Miranda Lambert’s Kangaroo Story

Released on October 17, 2025, “Choosin’ Texas” debuted at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed rapidly through the winter. On February 9, 2026, it reached number one, staying there for its first week and becoming Ella Langley’s first chart-topper. The 26-year-old Alabama native wrote the song with Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor in about thirty minutes at an October 2024 writing retreat after Lambert told hilarious stories from her younger years, including one where she was pulled over with her pet kangaroo in the passenger seat and commented to the female officer that she had Texas license plates. Langley came up with the phrase “She’s from Texas, I can tell,” and the rest flowed from there.

The track made history as the first song by a woman to simultaneously top the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay charts. Only three titles previously led all three lists at once, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen, and Wallen’s “Last Night”. Langley became just the seventh female artist in history to reach number one on the Hot 100 with a country song, joining Jeannie C. Riley, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, and Beyoncé. The song reached number one on Hot Country Songs in just six weeks, well ahead of the ten-year average of fifteen weeks, and climbed to the top of Country Airplay in sixteen weeks when the decade average was thirty weeks. The fastest journey for a song by a woman with no co-billed acts since Carrie Underwood did it twice in 2016 with “Church Bells” and “Heartbeat”.

The song was born during a group writing retreat when Lambert shared stories about her rebellious Texas youth. From there, Langley and her co-writers built a bittersweet tale of heartbreak, singing from the perspective of someone realizing the man she loves was never really hers because his heart is firmly rooted in Texas and with someone else. The lyrics reference George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning”, Jerry Reed’s “East Bound and Down”, and Ronnie Milsap’s “Smoky Mountain Rain”, grounding the story in classic country touchstones. Langley told fans on social media she was being given a chance to do something only a few females in country music history have ever done, rallying supporters for one final push to make country music history.

Langley and Lambert co-produced the track with Ben West, creating upbeat production with steel guitar that fits Langley’s wheelhouse while keeping its twang. Lambert sings background vocals throughout the track. The melody swings like a line dance, effortlessly upbeat even while the lyrics sting. Music critic Caitlin Hall noted the song is the kind you could cry to in the car or sing along with at a live show, the best kind of country contradiction. The production leaves roughly three seconds of space after the opening chorus line, choosing not to fill every moment with words and letting the hook breathe, which may be exactly why the song hits as hard as it does.

“Choosin’ Texas” serves as the lead single from Langley’s sophomore album Dandelion, set for release on April 10, 2026. Her previous solo number one “Weren’t For The Wind” topped Mediabase in July 2025, and she scored two chart-topping duets with Riley Green in “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do”. The song follows Langley’s breakout year, establishing her as one of country music’s brightest newcomers. She debuted the song live in February 2025 during a concert at Banita Creek Hall in Nacogdoches, Texas, before its official release eight months later. The rapid success positioned Langley for major tours supporting Eric Church and Morgan Wallen in 2026, plus her own headlining Dandelion Tour kicking off in May.

The song has surpassed 310 million streams worldwide and earned RIAA Platinum certification, reaching number one on both the U.S. Spotify Chart and Apple Music’s U.S. Songs Chart. It became the fourth country song by a female lead artist to top the Billboard Streaming Songs chart in its thirteen-year history. Critics called it proof that a traditional country song can go straight to the top without tapping a pop star for a remix or relying on viral TikTok campaigns. Music writer Kyle Denis noted that 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 organically based on the appeal of the song itself.

“Choosin’ Texas” represents a watershed moment for women in country music and proves traditional country still resonates with mainstream audiences. Langley’s unmistakable voice, the song’s Southern grit, and its honest storytelling meld mightily to cement her as one of the genre’s most important new voices. Jessica Nicholson of Billboard remarked that the production, rhythm, message, and Langley’s voice make this an irresistible track. The song that took thirty minutes to write following a story about a pet kangaroo turned into one of the biggest traditional country singles in twenty years, reminding everyone that sometimes the best songs come from the most unexpected moments and that country music’s future belongs to artists who honor its past while pushing it forward.