How Ella Langley two-stepped to the top of the charts

Country music is riding high, thanks to a new generation of stars and fans

THE RECORD for the longest stint atop the Billboard Hot 100, a chart of America’s most popular songs, once belonged to Mariah Carey’s schmaltzy festive anthem, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. No longer. “Choosin’ Texas”, a twangy country song by Ella Langley, now claims that distinction, having spent 24 weeks in the number-one slot. (Though it was recently bumped to second place by Taylor Swift’s new single.) Ms Langley’s track about being dumped in a honky-tonk may seem like a replay of the genre’s whisky-and-heartbreak trope. In fact, her ascent shows how the country-music business is finding a new rhythm.

Country music has traditionally relied on radio to reach its fans. But it is now America’s fourth-most-streamed genre, after R&B/hip-hop, rock and pop, according to Luminate, an analytics firm. Spotify reports that global streams passed 90bn last year and royalties have grown more than 130% since 2020. More labels are setting up shop in Nashville and Austin. Pop stars have climbed the charts after donning cowboy boots. This year Ms Swift, who started out as a country singer before turning to pop, returned to the genre with the single “I Knew It, I Knew You”. (There are rumours that her next album will offer more boot-scootin’ tunes.)

Ms Langley is currently touring her second album across America. Her monthly listeners on Spotify, the biggest streamer, have soared by 20m in a year. Her breakout success combines old-world pastoral charm with an astute use of social media.

She grew up in Hope Hull, Alabama, where the population is just over 7,000. (Her first audience, she has joked, was a bunch of cows.) She hunts and claims to have learned to read by singing hymns at church. In 2019, aged 20, Ms Langley moved to Nashville to become a songwriter. She signed a record deal in 2023 after performing at the Grand Ole Opry, a hallowed venue in the city that made stars of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.

Yet Ms Langley has made her name on social-media platforms as well as Nashville’s stages. She posted a clip of herself singing in her car in 2021, which went viral; a publishing deal followed soon after. Her internet fame resulted in collaborations with more established stars. In 2024 a snippet of a single from her debut album, “Hungover”, again went viral on TikTok.

Gen Z is charmed by the aesthetics of Americana. So the arrival of digitally native stars like Ms Langley, now 27, came at a “perfect moment”, says Jaime Marconette of Luminate. The firm has found that country-music fans are 27% more likely than the average American to use TikTok, giving performers more opportunities to be discovered. They are also more likely to listen on repeat to their favourite songs and artists, which keeps the music in the charts. The mellow strains of “Choosin’ Texas” have no doubt worked in its favour: it can be listened to again and again without its hooks becoming grating.

People who listen to music on streaming platforms tend not to seek out a specific genre, but a playlist that suits a mood or activity, such as cooking, explains Emily Cohen Belote of Amazon Music. This can help songs reach unexpected audiences. The guitar riffs of “Choosin’ Texas” may appeal to fans of 1980s soft rock. Ms Langley’s husky voice recalls Sheryl Crow.

Still, the number of people choosing “Choosin’ Texas” is surprising. A country track usually has to blend with another genre to “have this massive pop crossover moment”, says Claire Heinichen of Spotify. That is not the case with Ms Langley’s hit, which declares: “A cowboy always finds a way to leave / Drinkin’ Jack all by myself.” The appeal is in the storytelling. The lyrics might portray a “very specific Southern experience”, admits Ms Heinichen. “But being sad in a bar is universal.” ■