‘Choosin’ Texas’ Success

Dandelion includes “Choosin’ Texas,” arguably the biggest song of 2026 to-date.

Along with dominating the all-genre chart, it topped at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart during non-consecutive weeks in February and March; the song has also spent 19 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Langley co-wrote “Choosin’ Texas” with songwriters Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor, as well as genre mainstay Miranda Lambert.

At an event last month in Nashville, Langley discussed the song’s success: “I mean, we loved the song when we wrote it,” she said, per the Washington Post. “But did we think it could do something like this? I don’t know how you could predict that.”

Last week, she released a seven-minute music video for the song, starring Luke Grimes of Yellowstone fame, as well as Lambert, country singer Kaitlin Butts and Ava Phillippe, daughter of Reese Witherspoon. Langley co-directed the video alongside Wales Toney and Caylee Robillard.

‘Dandelion’ With Miranda Lambert

Lambert didn’t only co-write the album’s biggest song (so far). The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist co-produced Dandelion alongside Langley and Nashville album-maker Ben West.

Lambert also duets with Langley on the sublime standout album song “Butterfly Season.” She’s the only credited featured artist on the album.

On working with Langley, Lambert told Rolling Stone, “Ella has a fiery spirit. … With this record, I wanted to honor her vision every step of the way. It felt important to help her make choices that stayed true to who she is as an artist."

On the album, Langley’s influences range from Neil Young’s classic album Harvest Moon to Kacey Musgraves’ 2018 trendsetting release Golden Hour, according to an interview with Hits Daily Double. She also cites Willie Nelson, Kings of Leon, Patsy Cline, Chris Stapleton and Depeche Mode as artists that shaped her during formative years.

“My favorite thing to do with music is daydream,” Langley told Hits Daily Double. She added, “When my mom gave me her Fleetwood Mac vinyls, I’d play those over and over in the morning before school… The thing about Stevie, the first version of ‘Landslide’ I heard was The Chicks. I thought, 'Whoa! She really means it.’ But listening to the vinyls, the control of Stevie Nicks’ writing, the way she does her melodies, you realize how special it is. And she’s honest. I’m not afraid to be honest to write a song, just writing about going through stuff, that’s powerful. I got that there.”

‘Dandelion’ Tracklist

Read on for a tracklist for the 18-song Dandelion, including ‘Choosin’ Texas," new single “Be Her” and her cover of country classic “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.”

1. Froggy Went A Courtin’ – Intro
2. Dandelion
3. Choosin’ Texas
4. We Know Us
5. Low Lights
6. Be Her
7. You & Me Time
8. Loving Life Again
9. Bottom Of Your Boots
10. Speaking Terms
11. I Gotta Quit
12. It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
13. Last Call For Us
14. Broken
15. Somethin’ Simple
16. Butterfly Season (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
17. Most Good Things Do – Acoustic
18. Froggy Went A Courtin’ – Outro

What Critics Are Saying

As of publication time Friday, the album had received favorable reviews from leading cultural and news publications. A few highlights:

• The Associated Press: “In the modern era, where country music is full of retro traditionalists — typically male artists, like Zach Top’s playful George Strait worship — Langley brings the past to her present, melding wistful insights with contemporary acuity. She’s not a revisionist, but a nostalgist, one who sees the value in using old tools to tell new stories.”
• Rolling Stone: “… she leans into her taste for tradition with a fresh color wheel of vintage influence.”
• The Independent: “Langley’s a confident old-school songwriter with a great, straight-shootin’ voice: it recalls peak Shania Twain in an ability to bounce from fun to heartbreak, pure notes with a dusty little husk.”
• A.V. Club: “The thrill of Langley comes from the pull between the comforts of her past and the potential of her future. She wants to write timeless songs, one that’ll be passed down and rediscovered in 75 years.”

Will ‘Dandelion’ Reach No. 1?

It’ll be a few days before Langley’s buzzyworthy new album lands on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, but it’s already topped one music sales tracker – on iTunes. The album shot to No. 1 on the iTunes chart Friday morning, making it the most-downloaded release of the day. While only a fraction of overall sales, the chart indicates high interest in Langley’s sophomore effort.

Ella Langley On Tour

Langley tours extensively this year in support of her new album. She’s headlining an arena tour this spring and summer, with stops in St. Louis, Oklahoma City and Austin, Texas, among others.

Additionally, Langley plays Stagecoach later this month and supports Morgan Wallen on his stadium tour throughout the summer.

See a full list of tour dates at ellalangley.com.