Rising star Ella Langley has added another achievement to her growing list of accolades.

Her latest single, “Choosin’ Texas,” was released on October 7th, 2025, and debuted at #37 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. By December 2nd, it had reached the top of the US Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Langleys’ first solo career #1 hit.

Additionally, it became the fastest-rising solo female song at US Country Radio this decade, reaching the Top 10 in just eight weeks.

The week of January 5th, “Choosin’ Texas” jumped up 43 spots from last week on the Billboard Hot 100, landing at #5. This marks both the first top-five entry and the first top-ten entry on the chart for the 26-year-old.

On February 5th, Chart Data revealed that “Choosin’ Texas” had become the United States’ best-selling song in 2026 by total units, surpassing Taylor Swift’s 10-week #1 hit, “The Fate of Ophelia.” Congrats, Ella!

The Wild Story That Inspired “Choosin’ Texas”

During a show at The Listening Room in Nashville just ahead of the release, Langley shared the unusual story of how the song came to be. “Choosin’ Texas” was written with Miranda Lambert duirng a writer’s retreat in 2024.

As the two hit songwriters swapped stories and searched for inspiration, Langley recalls the wild anecdote Lambert shared:

“She told me she had a pet kangaroo, and she was doing something, she was driving down a dirt road, and the kangaroo was in the back seat, and the dog was in the front seat. There was a lot going on…”

Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert perform onstage during the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 08, 2025 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Lambert told Langley that she proceeded to get pulled over with the animals in tow.

“She said the lady cop pulled her over, and she’s like, ‘Of course I have Texas plates on the back of my car.’”

It was that phrase that inspired the hook for “Choosin’ Texas.” Moments later, the Alabama native recalls:

“I was walking to the bathroom and I started to go, ‘She’s from Texas, I can tell by the way he’s two-steppin’ around the room.’ And Miranda was walking behind me to the bathroom, a separate one, and she was like, ‘Wait a minute! The b***h he went with, she’s from Texas, I can tell.’”

After that, she says the song “fell out in about 30 minutes.” It is the first song that the two leading ladies have released together, and Langley describes it as one of her favorites that came out of the writer’s retreat. Hear Ella Langley tell the story in the video below!