Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" has returned to No. 1 on Apple Music's all-genre songs chart in the United States, reclaiming the top spot from Drake's "Janice STFU," which now sits at No. 2. It is a striking result for a song that first arrived in October 2025 and has spent the months since refusing to fade — proof that a country record can sit atop a chart that measures every genre against every other, and stay there long after most hits have cooled.
The Apple Music ranking moves quickly, shaped by day-to-day listening, and it can shift again just as fast. But the return to first place says something the daily churn usually erases: nearly a year on, listeners are still actively choosing this song over the newest releases in pop and rap.
A crossover hit that keeps outlasting the field
"Choosin' Texas" was never confined to country radio. Its staying power shows up most plainly on the Billboard Hot 100, where the track logged a 14th week at No. 1 — a run that placed Langley in rare company. Those 14 weeks tied Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the most weeks at No. 1 among non-holiday songs billed solely to women, with no male-billed act attached. To land beside two of the most enduring vocal performances in modern pop history, with a country single, is the kind of milestone that reframes an artist's career.
The song has been just as durable on the sales side. It has spent 39 weeks on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart and recently collected a 13th week at No. 1 there, tying hits like Flo Rida and T-Pain's "Low," Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk," and The Chainsmokers and Halsey's "Closer." That endurance is notable precisely because downloads now make up a small slice of how people consume music. A song that keeps selling in the streaming era is a song people want to own, not just hear in passing.
The Miranda Lambert connection
"Choosin' Texas" was co-written with Miranda Lambert, and the collaboration runs deeper than a single credit. Lambert coproduced Langley's entire sophomore album, Dandelion, lending a veteran's hand to a record that has become the foundation of the Alabama native's rapid rise. The two also share a track on the album, "Butterfly Season," and the partnership has given Langley both a creative anchor and a co-sign from one of country's most decorated artists.
That rise reached a peak at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards in May, where Langley swept the night with seven wins — a record for the most trophies claimed in a single ACM ceremony. Among them were Female Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and, for "Choosin' Texas," both Song of the Year and Single of the Year, the latter accepted alongside Lambert. Accepting the recognition for the song, Langley thanked the fans who carried it: "Thank you for loving this song, thank you for making it your own, thank you for making it do things that I never would have imagined to even dream for."
The Dandelion Tour keeps the momentum going
The Apple Music milestone lands in the middle of Langley's biggest headline run yet. Her 2026 Dandelion Tour spans 37 shows across 22 states, having opened May 7 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, and set to close October 31 at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Demand pushed the schedule well past its original size: what began as a 16-date run was extended by 21 shows in June, adding marquee stops including Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, and two nights at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Around the tour, Langley has kept "Choosin' Texas" in front of listeners in other ways, folding it into a new Apple Music playlist, Summertime Sounds, that pairs her own tracks — including her Morgan Wallen collaboration "I Can't Love You Anymore" — with the artists who shaped her, from Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks to Chris Stapleton, Keith Whitley and Patsy Cline.
For now, the story keeps circling back to one song. Almost a year after its release, "Choosin' Texas" is once again the most-played track on Apple Music in the country, competing across genres it was never built to chase — and, for the moment, winning.
