How Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ became the longest-running No. 1 hit of all time

NEW YORK — Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” a simmering, midtempo, country-and-then-some heartbreak song released last October, is indisputably 2026’s biggest hit.

“Choosin’ Texas” is also the longest-running No. 1 hit in the U.S., having spent 23 weeks at the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it was announced Tuesday.

That means the track has surpassed various records set by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and most impressively, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Her holiday classic held the previous record, with 22 weeks at No. 1.

The song’s laid-back sound, cross-genre appeal and heartache narrative are a few reasons why. But its dominance still comes as a surprise.

Luminate, the industry data and analytics company, found that “Choosin’ Texas” brought in 911 million on-demand streams in the U.S. and 1.26 billion globally as of mid-August. Considering that Langley started 2023, around the time she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, with under 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify — and now boasts of over 32 million — her rise has been meteoric.

Historically, country listenership has centered on radio play. That has…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business