Ella Langley Breaks Mariah Carey's Billboard Hot 100 Record

Ella Langley's hit song "Choosin' Texas" has officially broken Mariah Carey's long-standing record for the longest run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The 27-year-old country artist's single has now spent 23 weeks at the top, surpassing Carey's 1994 holiday classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which previously held the record with 22 weeks. Carey's song achieved its 22 weeks over multiple holiday seasons since 2019.

Langley expressed her disbelief and gratitude in an Instagram video posted shortly after the record was announced. "I'm genuinely trying to find the words to help explain what's going on in my brain today," she said. "It's changing my life. It's changing the lives of the writers of this song. It's changing the lives of my family and it is truly growing in atmosphere for something I'm going to be able to do for the rest of my life."

She joked that the situation felt unreal, as if she were waiting to be told it was a prank. "It feels fake and somebody is going to come and say, ‘Haha, we’re kidding the whole time.’"

"Choosin' Texas," co-written by Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, and Joybeth Taylor, debuted on the Hot 100 in November 2025. It reached No. 1 in February of the following year and has remained on the chart for a total of 48 weeks, according to Billboard. The song garnered 21.8 million streams in a recent tracking week, with its radio audience increasing by 2 percent. It also holds top 10 positions on pop airplay, adult-pop airplay, and adult contemporary charts.

The Billboard Hot 100 ranking combines streaming, radio airplay, and sales data across all genres. Langley's achievement also marks a new record for the longest-running solo female artist to top the chart with a non-holiday song. Earlier in the year, "Choosin' Texas" surpassed Taylor Swift's 2012 hit "We Are Never Getting Back Together" for the most weeks at No. 1 by a female country artist.

While Langley's record is now set, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has a history of returning to the No. 1 spot during the holiday season. Other songs with significant runs at No. 1 include Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," both with 19 weeks. Morgan Wallen's "Last Night," Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," and Carey's "One Sweet Day" collaboration with Boyz II Men each spent 16 weeks at the top.

Last month, Langley also appeared to respond to a comment made by Doja Cat about her song, where the rapper stated she was unfamiliar with it. Langley posted a cryptic response on social media shortly after. Earlier in her career, Langley took a hiatus from performing in August 2025, citing the need to care for her mental and physical well-being amidst the pressures of her exploding career. This period of retreat, spent near her childhood home in Alabama, inspired some of the more personal tracks on her album "Dandelion."