Langley Dethrones Mariah With 23-Week Hot 100 Record

Ella Langley's 'Choosin' Texas' logs a 23rd week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, breaking Mariah Carey's record, and she says it 'feels fake.'

Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" has officially logged its 23rd week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the all-time record for the longest-leading hit in the chart's 68-year history, as Hypebeast reports. The country anthem surpasses the 22-week mark held by Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which has topped the chart each holiday season since reaching No. 1 in 1994. Released via SAWGOD/Columbia Records and promoted by Triple Tigers, the single debuted on the Hot 100 in November 2025, became Langley's first top-10 single in January and hit the summit in February 2026. The announcement of the record came on Tuesday for the chart dated Sept. 26, according to Yahoo Entertainment.

Yahoo Entertainment reports that Langley turned to TikTok to thank fans, saying she is genuinely trying to find the words to explain what is going on in her brain and calling the achievement surreal. "It's changing my life. It's changing lives of the writers of this song. It's changing lives of my family," she said, adding that it is growing an atmosphere for something she will be able to do the rest of her life. Yahoo notes she admits she always half-expects someone to tell her it was all a joke, saying "somebody's gonna come in and be like, haha, we're kidding the whole time." She said she planned to go out and celebrate that night.

Hypebeast reports that during the record-setting tracking frame the single totaled 21.8 million official streams, 58.3 million radio audience impressions and 6,000 track sales. Yahoo, citing Luminate, says the song has pulled 911 million on-demand streams in the US and 1.26 billion globally as of mid-August. The song holds a 41-week run atop Hot Country Songs and, per Hypebeast, ties the all-time record on the Digital Song Sales chart at 18 weeks — a reign Yahoo says it shares with BTS. Yahoo also reports it is the first time a female artist topped the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts simultaneously, and that Langley's Spotify listeners have grown from under 1 million at her 2023 Grand Ole Opry debut to more than 32 million.

Along the way, Yahoo reports the song beat previous longevity marks set by Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" — and its path was not an uninterrupted streak. The song was co-written by Langley alongside Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert and Joybeth Taylor. The Bedford Gazette, in AP-distributed reporting, notes the track's dominance surprised analysts because it lacks the usual traits of a No. 1 smash: it is chiller, with no big bombastic moments, yet carries a subtle dance pulse and steel guitar that keeps non-country listeners from switching off. Musicologist Nate Sloan calls its specificity — detailed characters and geography in the lyrics — almost antithetical to what a big pop hit is supposed to be.

According to Yahoo Entertainment, Billboard reports the song's chart climb may not be finished, and Mariah Carey's Christmas hit could reclaim ground — and break another record — when the holiday season arrives again. Sloan tells the Bedford Gazette's AP reporting that Langley is no one-hit wonder, pointing to her award-winning 2024 collaboration with Riley Green, "You Look Like You Love Me," as evidence. The Bedford Gazette also cites Spotify senior editor Claire Heinichen describing the song's growth as explosive and consistent, moving from the leading country playlist to the global flagship "Today's Top Hits" because it works across audiences. Hughes, cited by the Gazette, says her blend of country tradition with 21st-century sounds is a good formula for a long career.