Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" spent its 20th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, breaking a tie it had held since last month to become, on its own, the second-longest-running No. 1 in the chart's history — trailing only Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." The milestone also makes it the longest-running non-holiday No. 1 song ever, surpassing Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" and Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," both of which had topped the chart for 19 weeks.
The song, released last October as the lead single from Langley's second album, "Dandelion," was written by Langley with Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert and Joybeth Taylor, and produced by Langley with Lambert and Ben West at Nashville's Sound Emporium. Lambert also sings background vocals on the track. Beyond the Hot 100, "Choosin' Texas" has simultaneously led Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, a feat no woman in country music had previously managed across all three charts at once. It has been certified six-times platinum in the U.S.
A Long Climb for Women in the Format
The run has drawn notice from within Nashville. When the song first became the rare single to top the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts simultaneously, fellow country singer Riley Green — who has recorded with Langley on other songs — pointed to how rare that is for a woman in the format: "I feel like it's so hard for females to get to that level. There's a ton of talented female artists in our genre." Langley had already become the longest-running female No. 1 of the century earlier in the song's run, a distinction this week's milestone extends further.
"Choosin' Texas" first reached No. 1 in February and has held the top spot on a non-consecutive basis since, occasionally ceding the position before reclaiming it. It won best country song at the American Music Awards in May, and its music video, filmed at Fort Worth's Stagecoach Ballroom and featuring actor Luke Grimes, has helped extend the song's reach beyond country radio.
Whether the song adds a 21st week depends on next week's chart, which will also show if any new release can finally dislodge it — Langley, meanwhile, is turning her attention to promoting "Dandelion" this fall.
