‘It sounds good next to almost anything’: how Choosin’ Texas became the biggest song of the year

Ella Langley’s country single has spent 15 weeks as US number one thanks to its retro-modern sound, a viral misheard lyric – and a boost from the Ella Fellas

This week, Ella Langley beat a chart record held by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The country singer’s Choosin’ Texas has now spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, making it the longest-running US No 1 by a female solo artist for a non-holiday single. The previous record holders, Houston’s I Will Always Love You and Carey’s We Belong Together, were bombastic pop events, the sort of unassailable hits that make sense as Hot 100 chartbusters. Choosin’ Texas, meanwhile, is a midtempo two-step with a relaxed vocal delivery and decidedly retro sound.

For Victoria Banks, a Nashville-based songwriter and instructor at Belmont University, the song’s breeziness is key to its success. “It’s a sleeper hit – it’s understated and unassuming,” she says. “Everything about the song throws back to a simpler time in country music that people are really craving.”