{"id":252201,"date":"2026-04-16T07:22:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/252201\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:22:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:22:23","slug":"choosin-texas-women-in-music-snl-dreams-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/252201\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Choosin’ Texas,’ Women in Music, ‘SNL’ Dreams & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cEvery day I wake up, it\u2019s like something more insane has happened,\u201d Ella Langley<\/a> says, reflecting on a year that has been filled with near-surreal achievements. Langley earned hits on Billboard\u2019s Country Airplay<\/a> chart with \u201cWeren\u2019t for the Wind\u201d and her Riley Green collaboration \u201cDon\u2019t Mind If I Do\u201d in 2025 \u2014 but this year, one smash single elevated her to history-\u00admaking chart heights and arena headliner status.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d twangy steel guitar and line dance-ready rhythms underscore Langley\u2019s heartrending tale of \u00adlosing a paramour to a woman from the Lone Star State. At press time, it had spent six weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot\u00a0100<\/a> \u2014 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<\/a>. It also became the first song by a woman country artist to simultaneously lead the Hot\u00a0100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. The megahit, which embodies the 26-year-old\u2019s modern yet timeless country vibe, marks a new career high for this year\u2019s Women in Music<\/a> Powerhouse.<\/p>\n

\t\tWatch Billboard\u2019s Women in Music 2026 live on YouTube.com\/Billboard and Billboard.com on April 29, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET\/6:30 p.m. PT. For more coverage on Women in Music, click here<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHer vivid, reflective 18-song album Dandelion, released in April on SAWGOD\/Columbia Records, builds on the momentum from \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d with songs like \u201cLoving Life Again\u201d and \u201cBe Her.\u201d In March, the latter reached No.\u00a02 on Hot Country Songs just beneath \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d making Langley the first woman to hold the chart\u2019s top two spots for multiple weeks, surpassing Beyonc\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis record feels like a more mature version of my artistry,\u201d she says. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLangley 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 \u2014 just part of a busy 2026 itinerary that also includes opening shows for Morgan Wallen and Eric Church.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ella<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Ryan Anderson<\/p>\n

\n\tWho do you think of when you think of a powerhouse artist?<\/p>\n

\n\tDolly Parton. She acts, sings, and every day she leaves the house looking incredible. I aspire to try; I\u2019m in sweats most of the time. Miranda [Lambert], Reba [McEntire], Jo\u00a0Dee Messina, Gretchen Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett. What I\u2019m drawn to with strong women is their ability to be trailblazers. They\u2019re not afraid to take risks. Just explore your artistry and have fun with it.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow have you dealt with your newfound fame?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m 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\u2019s odd to view yourself like that. When I think of another artist, I view them as an artist. But when I view myself, it\u2019s weird to think so many people out there that know me, that I don\u2019t know them. But the fan experiences I\u2019ve had \u2014 people come up and talk about what the music means \u2014 have been cool.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou wrote \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d with Miranda Lambert, as well as songwriters Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor. What do you recall about that session?<\/p>\n

\n\tI 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, \u201cOf course, I had Texas plates, too.\u201d I went, \u201cWell, she\u2019s from Texas, I can tell\u2026\u201d Forty-five minutes later, we had the song written.<\/p>\n

\n\t[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 \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d Miranda said, \u201cI need to go get us some cigarettes,\u201d and she took us to the gas station and she\u2019s buying us some Marlboro Reds. It was so full circle.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ella<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGiorgio Armani pants from What a Girl Wants Vintage, vintage coat, Christian Louboutin shoes.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Ryan Anderson<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you celebrate \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d going to No.\u00a01?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt 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.\u00a01 party recently, so it was great to be with \u00adMiranda, Joybeth and Luke. We loved the song when we wrote it, but none of us thought that it would be the song to do \u00adeverything it\u2019s doing. It keeps giving us a reason to celebrate new \u00admilestones.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat is on your career bucket list right now?<\/p>\n

\n\t[Saturday Night Live] \u2014 to be a musical guest and then one day, maybe host. Sell out stadiums, that\u2019s always been my goal. I want to start acting in the next year. I like thrillers but also love comedy. I\u2019m not a big romantic movie lady, so probably something funnier or a little more intense.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d made history at No.\u00a01 on the Hot\u00a0100 at the same time that Megan Moroney\u2019s Cloud\u00a09 debuted atop the Billboard\u00a0200<\/a>. How do you think these simultaneous milestones might affect other women country artists who are trying to break through?<\/p>\n

\n\tSeeing women at the top of the charts together is incredible. It\u2019s a testament to the stories we\u2019re telling and how they\u2019re resonating with fans. I do hope it keeps opening doors for female artists in the future who\u2019ve been waiting for their turn.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you feel a responsibility to mentor other women artists who are coming up?<\/p>\n

\n\tAbsolutely, and there\u2019s so many talented women coming up right now. I\u2019m so excited for what music\u2019s going to look like in the next two to three years. Women are about to take over, I\u2019m telling you that right now. It\u2019s cool to be, hopefully, someone that someone else looks up to in that way.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story appears in the April 18, 2026, issue of Billboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cEvery day I wake up, it\u2019s like something more insane has happened,\u201d Ella Langley says, reflecting on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[42310,95399,27,29,28,95400],"class_list":["post-252201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-genre-country","tag-magazine","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-women-in-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}