“Choosin’ Texas” just did something no other song in 68 years of the Hot 100 has done. Ella Langley‘s slow-burning heartbreak anthem racked up its 23rd consecutive week at No. 1, pulling ahead of Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for the longest run atop the chart in Billboard history.
Carey’s holiday juggernaut had owned the record at 22 weeks since 2019, a mark many assumed was untouchable outside of December. Langley just proved otherwise, and she did it in the middle of a fragmented streaming era where nothing is supposed to stick around this long.
The song, cowritten with Miranda Lambert and Joybeth Taylor, first hit No. 1 in February and simply never let go. This week alone it pulled in 21.8 million official streams and 58.3 million radio audience impressions, numbers that suggest it is still finding new fans nine months after release. “It feels surreal,” Langley told Billboard News earlier this year, and the feeling has only compounded since.
The Alabama native is having a career defining run. “Choosin’ Texas” has topped Hot Country Songs for 41 weeks, and the Dandelion cut has helped push Langley to the front of the Best New Artist conversation heading into awards season. Of course, “all time” comes with an asterisk. Carey’s Christmas classic is built to return every December, so the record could get contested again before the year is out. For now, though, the crown belongs to Texas.
