\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tJust about every week on the Billboard<\/em> charts so far in 2026 has been a big week for country singer-songwriter Ella Langley. But this last one might just be her biggest yet.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tElla Langley\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\tOn this week\u2019s Billboard 200, dated Apr. 18, Langley debuts at No. 1 with her sophomore LP Dandelion<\/em>, moving 169,000 units in the set\u2019s first week. Meanwhile, she simultaenously tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh week with her crossover smash \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d while also hitting the top five with her follow-up hit \u201cBe Her\u201d (8-4 this week), and notching 15 songs total from Dandelion<\/em> on the chart.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tLil Tjay on Offset, Justin Bieber, and Keeping His Foot on the Gas\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tViolent Soho Announce 2026 Australian Tour Following Four-Year Hiatus\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tPrince Estate Releases Unheard Version of ‘With This Tear’\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\tHow do these returns compare to our expectations? And does this performance confirm her as a newly minted pop star? Billboard<\/em> staffers answer these questions and more below. <\/p>\n Kyle Denis<\/strong>: This is right on par, if not better than what I was expecting for\u00a0Dandelion\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0first week.\u00a0With her sophomore album\u00a0debuting\u00a0comfortably in the six-figure range,\u00a0Ella\u2019s has proven she can move albums as well as singles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyndsey Havens<\/strong>: A\u00a0bit better and a bit expected at the same time. Having been well aware that this album would be a huge win for Ella, given the performance of early singles and continued Hot 100 dominance of \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d this first-week number feels right on target. Yet, I\u2019m also still a bit surprised by it; despite Ella\u2019s years of hard work and patience for this moment, it does feel like a bit of a whirlwind right now. And I imagine for those who\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>been paying attention, this feels like a total shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n Melinda Newman<\/strong>: They are about what I thought they would, be given her growing crossover popularity. It\u2019s the largest opening week for a woman this year and the largest opening week for a country artist, topping first week numbers this year from Megan Moroney, Zach Bryan and Luke Combs. She is really drawing from pop fans, probably almost as much as country fans at this point.<\/p>\n Andrew Unterberger<\/strong>: Pretty much exactly what I expected \u2014\u00a0a little lower or a little higher wouldn\u2019t have shocked me either. She\u2019s rapidly approaching the point where it\u2019s tough to really be that surprised by any commercial achievement of hers.<\/p>\n Jessica Nicholson<\/strong>: That is about what I expected. Those are huge numbers and recognize how her song \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d has dominated the Hot 100 for seven weeks, in addition to seeing more songs from her album Dandelion<\/em> proliferate the chart.<\/p>\n Kyle Denis<\/strong>: It\u2019s\u00a0certainly possible! I\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0be surprised if Ella simultaneously held the top two spots on the Hot 100 in the coming weeks. As summer draws nearer and\u00a0rumored\u00a0new albums from the likes of Drake and Ariana Grande potentially materialize, \u201cBe Her\u201d could have a difficult journey to No. 1 \u2014 but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not out of the question.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyndsey Havens<\/strong>: I genuinely hope so. I love \u201cBe Her,\u201d from its sultry start to the catchy (and yes, TikTok-primed) hand claps. And look, the concept isn\u2019t new \u2014 there\u2019s a whole library of songs about a woman feeling envious of another, including Kelsea Ballerini\u2019s latest \u201cEmerald City\u201d But here, Ella take\u2019s it to the point of wanting to\u00a0be her.<\/em>\u00a0It\u2019s a song that fits perfectly on\u00a0Dandelion\u00a0<\/em>and suits Ella\u2019s voice and own storyline right now, and I do think it could climb to No. 1 with the right push.<\/p>\n Melinda Newman<\/strong>: Yes. I think there\u2019s something about\u00a0Langley\u00a0that is undeniable right now. People are very curious about her and she hasn\u2019t been overexposed. This is a sweet time for her where she can do no wrong. I don\u2019t think it will be No. 1 for as long as \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d though. It doesn\u2019t have the same appeal \u2014 but how incredible would it be if it replaces \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d at No. 1?\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Nicholson<\/strong>: That is a large jump, but Olivia Dean is also holding strong and seems destined to take the pinnacle at some point, while Ella has the powerful Morgan Wallen collab coming this week.<\/p>\n Andrew Unterberger<\/strong>: I\u2019d say probably not \u2014\u00a0but only because it\u2019s about to get really crowded at the top of the Hot 100, including with another song of her own devising. Getting to the top five is a huge, huge win for \u201cBe Her\u201d and Langley in general regardless. <\/p>\n Kyle Denis<\/strong>: Sure, she could have waited \u2014 but why not strike while the iron is hot? The country\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0get enough of Ella right now.\u00a0She\u00a0also has a successful history with male-female duets, and\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0no such song on\u00a0Dandelion<\/em>, meaning\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0offering the marketplace another style of song and not just a\u00a0throwaway loosie.\u00a0More importantly, this is about positioning. Wallen is undisputably the current King of Country, and him tapping Ella as his first female country\u00a0duet partner\u00a0\u2014 and second female\u00a0collaborator overall, following Tate McRae\u00a0last year\u00a0\u2014 solidifies her crown as country\u2019s current Queen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyndsey Havens<\/strong>: Either way, it seems like a guaranteed win. Morgan and now Ella have played a huge role in rewriting\u00a0country music\u2019s chart records\u00a0of late, so putting them together at any time does seem like a guaranteed smash. That said, I don\u2019t think it would have hurt to wait a bit and give\u00a0Dandelion\u00a0<\/em>just a bit more room to live and breath on its own.<\/p>\n Melinda Newman<\/strong>: It is rare for country to have a genuine \u201cevent record\u201d and this is it. Given that they are on tour together, but only for a handful of dates, it makes sense to release it now and get the biggest bang for the buck they can while they can do it live. It\u2019s also unclear whose album it will be on since it\u2019s not on\u00a0Dandelion<\/em>, so it creates excitement in terms of: Will it be on a deluxe edition of\u00a0Dandelion,\u00a0<\/em>or on Wallen\u2019s next album \u2014 or will it be a stand-alone like the Chris Stapleton\/Miranda Lambert duet?\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Nicholson<\/strong>: Ideally, I would have waited a bit to give all the songs on the album more breathing room \u2014 but the release also closely follows Ella\u2019s first night opening for Wallen\u2019s current Still the Problem Tour, so the timing for that makes sense.<\/p>\n Andrew Unterberger<\/strong>: My instinct is to say she could have waited here, let Dandelion<\/em> enjoy a few weeks of blockbuster success on its own merits, and then maybe a month or so down the line, hit \u2019em with the Wallen collab and let \u2019em know you\u2019re not going anywhere anytime soon. But doing it just two weeks after the album release \u2014\u00a0and announcing it with a live duet just one week after \u2014 is such a power move I can\u2019t really hate on it, either. This is your moment, why not do whatever you can to make it as big as possible? <\/p>\n Kyle Denis<\/strong>: In the sense that country\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0pop right now, yes. But\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0like to see her\u00a0plastered across commercials, showing with high billing on all-genre festival lineups and playing gigs like\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a0before I truly\u00a0regard her as a \u201cbonafide pop star.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyndsey Havens<\/strong>: I lean on the more giving side with that title, but I do think she\u2019s totally earned it.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not forget, she\u2019s already had her long-lasting breakout moment with Riley Green on \u201cYou Look Like You Love Me.\u201d I think there were some who thought that would be the peak, but it was always just setting Ella up for her own time to shine \u2014 and it certainly feels like that time has come. I don\u2019t think it will pass anytime soon.<\/p>\n Melinda Newman<\/strong>: Pop star or country star? We toss star around \u201cstar\u201d too lightly and soon we\u2019ll be calling her a superstar. I would still call her a rising star. She\u2019s had three No. 1s on Country Airplay and one No. 1 on the Hot 100. It\u2019s too soon to tell if she\u2019s a genuine pop sensation or she\u2019s a country singer who has one massive pop hit.\u00a0I need to see more from her, but her promise is undeniable and it\u2019s really exciting to watch her rise and how far she\u2019s going to go. <\/p>\n Jessica Nicholson<\/strong>: She\u2019s definitely one of the fastest-rising artists out there right now. Country music has regularly dominated the all-genre charts for a few years now, and the songs on her new album are strong, so she\u2019s definitely cemented herself as an artist who is here to stay.<\/p>\n Andrew Unterberger<\/strong>: It\u2019s tough to call someone a pop star when they\u2019ve never, say, played the VMAs, or appeared at a non-genre music festival, or any number of the usual moves that signify an artist traveling the path to pop stardom. But the fervor around Ella Langley is so insane right now it might just not matter. We are very possibly headed towards a Hot 100 in a couple weeks\u2019 time in which she has three<\/em> of the top five songs \u2014\u00a0something only a handful of other artists have ever done in the chart\u2019s history. Are we really going to say that\u2019s not a pop star?<\/p>\n Kyle Denis<\/strong>: I think 10-11 weeks, but\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0keep my eye on Olivia Dean\u2019s \u201cSo Easy (To Fall\u00a0In\u00a0Love)\u201d and my ear to the streets regarding yet-to-be-announced high-profile releases.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyndsey Havens<\/strong>: I\u2019m rooting for 19 weeks. That will force a tie with \u201cOld Town Road,\u201d and fall just a few weeks behind the reigning queen, Mariah Carey, with her eternal holiday hit. Seems like a nice place to land.<\/p>\n Melinda Newman<\/strong>: I\u2019m going for an even 10, though, as we pointed out before, \u201cBe Her\u201d could knock \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d out \u2014 as could her duet with Wallen \u2014 so \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d may be a victim of her own success, which would not be a bad thing at all!<\/p>\n Jessica Nicholson<\/strong>: I would guess 9-10 total.<\/p>\n Andrew Unterberger<\/strong>: I\u2019ll say 12 total. But more would not surprise me in the slightest. <\/p>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/chart-beat\/ella-langley-dandelion-five-burning-questions-1236228253\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-Ella-Langley-2026-cr-Caylee-Robillard-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Just about every week on the Billboard charts so far in 2026 has been a big week for country singer-songwriter Ella Langley. But this last one might just be her biggest yet. Explore Ella Langley See latest videos, charts and news On this week\u2019s Billboard 200, dated Apr. 18, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1895267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1895267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1895267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1895267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1895267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
![\"Lil](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Credit-JB-Tai-e1776762078840.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
![\"Violent](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/violent-soho-mitch-lowe-e1776750515504.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
![\"LOS](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/498349288.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
1.\u00a0Dandelion<\/em>\u00a0debuts atop the Billboard 200 with 169,000 first-week units. Are those numbers better, worse or about what you expected for its\u00a0first-week\u00a0returns?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
2. \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d simultaneously enjoys its seventh week atop the Hot 100, while \u201cBe Her\u201d becomes her second top five hit by jumping No. 8-4. Do you think the latter will eventually follow \u201cTexas\u201d to the chart\u2019s top spot?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
3. While\u00a0Langley\u00a0is enjoying her wins for\u00a0Dandelion<\/em>\u00a0and its hits,\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0already moving onto a new single, with an upcoming duet with Morgan Wallen \u2014 unveiled live over the weekend \u2014 expected to be released this Friday. Does the timing of that now-much-anticipated collaboration make sense to you, or would you have waited more than two weeks after the full album to drop such a near-guaranteed smash?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
4. Does the first week performance of\u00a0Dandelion<\/em>\u00a0combined with the extended success of \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d and the album\u2019s other singles \u2014 and now an incoming\u00a0teamup\u00a0with the biggest artist in country \u2014 confirm\u00a0Langley\u00a0as a bonafide pop star to you, or do you still need to see more from her before giving her that status?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
5. Make a prediction: How many total weeks will \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d spend atop the Hot 100?<\/strong>\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n