Ella Langley Claims 3 of Billboard Hot 100's Top 4 as 'Choosin’ Texas' Logs 13th Week at No. 1

Q: Is country music, led by stars like Ella Langley, now permanently eclipsing hip-hop's cultural dominance?

No. Ella Langley’s run shows country is having a major mainstream moment, not that it has permanently replaced hip-hop as the culture’s dominant force. The evidence for country’s surge is strong. Langley has spent 13 straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Choosin’ Texas,” holds three of the top four spots, and has become one of 2026’s biggest streaming, radio and sales performers. Her album *Dandelion* is also among the year’s biggest releases, and Morgan Wallen remains a major chart force. Industry data shows country is gaining share in U.S. listening and albums, helped by younger streaming audiences and crossover stars. But the broader market does not support a “permanent eclipse.” R&B/hip-hop still accounts for roughly one in four U.S. streams, making it the biggest streaming genre even after recent declines. Hip-hop’s share has slipped on some charts, and there have been periods with fewer rap songs in the top tier of the Hot 100, but that points more to fragmentation than collapse. New subgenres and scenes continue to grow, especially with younger listeners. The bigger story is diversification. Country is stronger than it has been in years, hip-hop is less monopolizing than it was at its peak, and streaming has made the market more splintered across country, pop, Latin, dance and global sounds. Langley is a symbol of country’s breakthrough power in 2026. She is not yet proof that hip-hop’s wider cultural influence has been permanently overtaken.

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 20

Three of this week’s top four Hot 100 songs belong to Ella Langley: “Choosin’ Texas” stays No. 1, “Be Her” holds No. 3, and “I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Morgan Wallen climbs 6-4.
That makes Langley only the fourth female artist ever to control three of the chart’s top four spots at once, joining Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter; among all acts, she is the ninth.
“Choosin’ Texas” also reaches a 13th week at No. 1, tying Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” for the fourth-longest Hot 100 reign credited solely to women.
The song still leads Streaming Songs, Digital Song Sales, Hot Country Songs and Country Streaming Songs, while rising 5-3 on the Billboard Global 200 and 10 spots to No. 46 on Global Excl. U.S.
Langley places five songs on the Hot 100 overall, with “Loving Life Again” at No. 50 and “Bottom of Your Boots” at No. 88; “Loving Life Again” also debuts at No. 53 on Country Airplay.