For a breakout artist, having a massive first hit can be sort of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, everybody knows your name and your song. But on the other, can you follow it up? And will it pigeonhole you into releasing only a specific kind of music?
For Ella Langley, the answers to those questions are a resounding yes, and a resounding no, in that order.
Langley achieved mainstream acclaim in 2024 with “you Look Like You Love Me,” a Riley Green duet that dominated country music that year and collected multiple major awards. It was catchy as all get-out, but featured some unusual (and old-school) stylistic choices, like talk-singing.
But that turned out to be just the beginning of what Langley had to offer. She followed up “You Look Like You Love Me” with more hits like “Weren’t For the Wind.” Then, along came “Choosin’ Texas,” and opened up a whole new stratosphere of success for the singer.
Read More: Here Are the Lyrics to Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas”
At first listen, “Choosin’ Texas” — which was co-written by Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick — seemed too twangy to be a big crossover hit. But cross over it did.
The song went on to be a record-busting, all-genre Billboard chart smash, proving that Langley didn’t have to leave traditional country behind to claim out-of-genre fans: They were willing to come to her.
Now, no one’s downplaying Langley’s extraordinary success as a hitmaker. But she’s also got some best-kept secrets: Deep-cut songs that haven’t seen much airplay, but we’d argue they’re even better that the singles you know and love.
Read More: 13 Surprising Ella Langley Facts
In fact, No. 1 on our list of Langley’s all-time best songs is one that, if you haven’t listened to her albums, you’ve never heard before.
Keep scrolling for Taste of Country’s roundup of Ella Langley’s best songs to date.
The 15 Best Ella Langley Songs
Ella Langley showed up in country music’s mainstream as a dark horse with an unlikely hit: “You Look Like You Love Me,” a Riley Green duet that was catchy as all get-out but featured some unusual (and old-school) stylistic choices like talk-singing.
But it was a smash. And that turned out to be just the beginning of what Langley had to offer. She’s continued to dominate with hits like “Weren’t For the Wind” and the crossover mega-hit “Choosin’ Texas,” becoming one of the most high profile acts in country music and a bonafide star even beyond the genre.
Keep reading for Taste of Country’s countdown of 15 Ella Langley songs that put her on the map, and then rewrote the rules of what traditional country sounds like — and how successful it can be even beyond the genre.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
13 Ella Langley Facts Guaranteed To Shock Her Biggest Fans
Our Ella Langley fact sheet zooms in on the pop-country star who gave her a big break, a surgery that may have changed her voice and the state championship team she was a part of in high school. Plus, did you know she had to fight to record her breakthrough hit the way she wanted to?
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes