Ella Langley's faith and authenticity fuel record-breaking rise, experts say

Ella Langley is making music history without leaving behind the faith, values and traditional sound that first won over fans.

The 27-year-old country star’s song “Choosin’ Texas” has hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 15th nonconsecutive week, surpassing Mariah Carey’s 2005 R&B classic “We Belong Together” and Whitney Houston’s iconic 1992 power ballad “I Will Always Love You,” both of which spent 14 weeks atop the chart, according to a report published by Billboard on Monday.

Langley became the first solo female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 for that long with a non-holiday song. Mariah Carey’s perennial 1994 holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” is the only song by a solo female singer to spend more time at No. 1, with 22 weeks atop the chart.

“This has been the foundational basis for American vision, values and virtues for a long time,” Eldridge added. “Others are just waking up to that reality.”

Langley’s growing mainstream appeal has drawn comparisons to Taylor Swift’s crossover from her country music beginnings to global pop stardom.

However, Eldridge pointed to what he views as a key difference between the two artists.

“Langley is more true to country music, than Swift ever was in her early days,” Eldridge said. “That said, Swift built an audience — and later, an empire — so she knew what she was doing all along.”

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Eldridge told Fox News Digital that it is too early to know whether Langley will ultimately follow Swift’s trajectory or reach the same level of commercial success. He also pointed out that Swift is far from the first country-pop crossover star.

“Swift deserves all the credit for her self-built, billion-dollar empire, but assigning her sole attribution for the country-pop cross-over is looking past all those artists who successfully built that model and passed down the blueprint,” he said.

Eldridge argued Langley may be better served by continuing to lean into the country sound and faith-based identity that have defined her career rather than pursuing a full-fledged pop crossover.

“Langley has both commercial appeal and a sense of authenticity — it’s hard to maintain both once you fully commit to the pop cross-over,” he said.

“Historically speaking, country artists have careers; pop artists have a moment.”