Ella Langley‘s “Choosin’ Texas” is unquestionably the biggest hit single of the year, and all that’s left to decide is where the seemingly unstoppable song ultimately lands among the biggest chart hits of all time. The country crossover smash just landed its 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which gives it still more bragging rights, as the tune is now in sole possession of the No. 4 spot on the list of historic chart-topping streaks.
As of last week, “Choosin’ Texas” was tied with three other songs that had also landed 16 weeks at No. 1: Morgan Wallen‘s “Last Night,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” and Mariah Carey and Boys II Men’s “One Sweet Day.” Now that she has left those songs in the dust, there are just three more tunes to surpass to set an all-time record: Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” each of which was No. 1 for 19 weeks, and Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” the all-time record-holder with 22 weeks on top. Not long ago, it would have seemed impossible to imagine anyone edging past Carey’s holiday perennial, but with the roll Langley is on, another six weeks at No. 1 is not a laughable goal.
One reason to think that “Choosin’ Texas” may not be slowing down much, if at all, on its march toward setting further records: it just reached the top 10 on Billboard’s pop airplay chart for the first time this week, as stations that would have never, ever played a traditional country song find themselves giving in to audience demand. Overall radio play for the song was up 4% for the week, because of the added pop play, according to Billboard.
