Alabama country star sets another rare record on the pop charts

Alabama’s Ella Langley just keeps on setting chart records – and her latest feat puts her in territory so rare that only about two dozen artists have ever been there. Billboard, which maintains the country’s most widely respected music charts, reported Monday that Hope Hull native Langley continues to hold the No. 1 spot on the overall Hot 100 pop singles chart with “Choosin’ Texas.” It is the ninth nonconsecutive week for that song to hold the top spot. What’s new is that her follow-up single “Be Her” has now risen to No. 2, meaning she holds the top two pop singles in the country. She’s the first woman known for country music to accomplish that. The feat is so rare that only one other country artist has ever done it. That was Morgan Wallen, who locked up the Top 3 a year ago. “What I Want,” a duet with Tate McRae, debuted at No. 1, with Wallen’s “Just in Case” at No. 2 and “I’m the Problem” at No. 3. “Choosin’ Texas” has topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for 24 weeks. As of Monday it also was in its sixth week leading the Digital Song Sales Chart and its 10th week as No. 1 among Streaming Songs. According to Billboard, Langley is the 27th act to lock up the top two spots. Langley’s skyrocketing chart success has drawn numerous comparisons to the records of Dolly Parton and Beyoncé, but neither Parton nor Beyoncé pulled off this twofer. Artists who’ve hit the one-two double a single time include Bad Bunny, Mariah Carey, Future, Ariana Grande, Metro Boomin, Wallen and The Weeknd. Another elite group has done it more than once: Justin Bieber and T.I. for six weeks, Drake for seven, OutKast for eight and The Beatles for 10 weeks. Taylor Swift has done it five times. And – lest we forget – there was a week in 2022 where Swift locked up the entire Top 10 and then a week in May 2024 when she held the Top 14 spots. Langley has a third song in the Top 10: “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” her new duet with Wallen, debuted last week at No. 8, according to Billboard. The full Hot 100 chart dated May 16 is set to be released Tuesday. In the previous edition, Langley also held the No. 36 spot with “Loving Life Again;” No. 53 with “Bottom of Your Boots;” No. 57 with “Dandelion;” and No. 92 with “Broken.”