Ella Langley's 'Choosin' Texas' Breaks Mariah Carey's Hot 100 Record With 23 Weeks at No. 1
Ella Langley's country hit 'Choosin' Texas' has become the longest-running No. 1 song in Billboard Hot 100 history, surpassing Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' with 23 weeks at the top. Langley celebrated the milestone on Instagram, calling the success life-changing.
Ella Langley's country single «Choosin' Texas» has officially become the longest-running No. 1 song in Billboard Hot 100 history, logging its 23rd week at the top of the chart and surpassing Mariah Carey's «All I Want for Christmas Is You.» The record was confirmed this week, marking a historic moment for country music and for Langley, who released the song less than a year ago.
Langley celebrated the milestone in an emotional Instagram video on Tuesday night, telling fans she was struggling to process the news. «I'm genuinely trying to find the words to explain what's going on in my brain today,» she said. «Thank you so much. Thank you for loving this song, for listening to it. I'm running out of hyperboles to describe how I feel.» She added that the song's success is «changing my life» and the lives of its co-writers and her family, describing the moment as surreal. «Today doesn't feel like a real thing,» she said. «It feels fake and somebody's going to come in and be like 'haha we're kidding the whole time.'»
The song's journey to the top has been swift. «Choosin' Texas» first entered the Hot 100 in November 2025, became Langley's first top 10 in January, and reached No. 1 for the first time in February. It has also spent 41 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. In a March interview with Billboard, Langley admitted the song's success had already exceeded her expectations. «When we wrote it, I knew it was going on the record. I honestly knew it was going to be the lead single,» she said. «But I don't think I could have ever imagined what's happening with it right now.»
The song's origin story is as unusual as its chart run. Langley wrote «Choosin' Texas» during her first songwriting retreat with country superstar Miranda Lambert and two other writers. Lambert shared a story about once being pulled over with a pet kangaroo riding in the passenger seat and a dog in the back. «She said she got pulled over and the kangaroo ended up getting her out of a ticket, but she's like, 'Of course, I had Texas plates on, too,'» Langley recalled. That anecdote sparked the song. «And I went, 'Well, she's from Texas, I can tell.' And just from that phrase, it kind of all hit us,» Langley said. «And 45 minutes later, we had that song written.»
Billboard credits Langley, Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor as co-writers. Lambert's involvement extended beyond the writing room; she is executive producing Langley's next record and has become a mentor. «There's not a rulebook to this job,» Langley said. «So to be able to have someone like her to ask questions... She's like, 'Hell yeah, you should be doing this.'» Even Lambert was surprised by the song's performance. «My team's calling me every day freaking out about this song,» Langley recalled Lambert telling her when the song had reached No. 5.
Langley's historic week comes as she continues touring across the country. She recently shared photos from stops in Oxford, Mississippi; Athens, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida, showing her performing with her guitar and posing near an Ole Miss sign. The record-breaking success of «Choosin' Texas» cements her status as one of country music's fastest-rising stars and marks a rare crossover achievement for the genre on the all-genre Hot 100.
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