This Graphic Shows How Far Ella Langley Has Come in Just 7 Months

There’s anecdotal evidence that Ella Langley is among the top country artists of today, and then there’s empirical evidence.

Then, there’s a decision made seven months ago that — in April 2026 — seems equal to doubling down on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LX odds mid-season. That’s the graphic the headline of this article refers to. First, let’s talk evidence.

• Ella Langley’s new Dandelion album has spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200 (all-genre album) chart.
• “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her” are No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
• She has seven nominations for next month’s ACM Awards in Las Vegas.

On April 9, I wrote my usual Snubs & Surprises piece after the ACM nominations were announced, except this one looked a bit different.

Perennial snubs of LoCash and Parmalee in favor of Red Clay Strays and Muscadine Bloodline underline the importance of streaming numbers (or at least what streaming numbers represent) in select categories.

In the not-too-distant future, those metrics may matter more than radio airplay metrics in other categories as well. That will really upend the industry in ways important people need to consider, but that’s not why I’m here.

Langley remains an example of how and why radio still matters, perhaps to a fault.

All seven nominees in the Entertainer of the Year category have more radio hits than Langley, who is just wrapping promotion for her fourth single (plus one from Riley Green’s record).

Take a look at their April 28 Spotify monthly listeners numbers, with a change noted from April 9:

Luke Combs – 27.3M (-600K)
Jelly Roll – 21.7M (-700K)
Cody Johnson – 12.1M (+300K)
Megan Moroney – 8.9M (-600K)
Chris Stapleton – 25.9M (-600K)
Morgan Wallen – 34.1M (+1.2M)
Lainey Wilson – 11.1M (+600K)

Megan Moroney was coming off a Spotify peak as nominations were decided and released. Her Cloud 9 album was released in late February, and she topped many of the same charts Langley is topping with Dandelion.

The others are ebbing and flowing as you’d expect, with the exception of perhaps Combs.

If the non-subscriber data at Songstats can be believed, his total playlist reach spiked for just one week after he dropped The Way I Am on March 20, and it’s now at the lowest point in at least one year.

Meanwhile, Langley’s monthly Spotify listeners are up 3.4 million, to 27.2M total. Here is a chart of her last 30 days, from Songstats:

That’s not the graphic we’re referring to, however. Keep reading, it’s far less nerdy.

Last weekend, Langley performed at Stagecoach, country music’s premiere festival. The lineup was announced in September, and back then, no one batted an eye lash at the admat.

Headliner Cody Johnson, hitmaker Bailey Zimmerman and CMA Group of the Year Red Clay Strays were all above her, and in practice, five artists started sets after Langley’s 6:30PM set began.

That list includes Sam Barber, who released a great song called “Indigo” in 2024, but hasn’t really cracked mainstream since.

She’s a stunning fourth on the poster, but in fairness to Stagecoach organizers, lineups are decided well in advance of announcement day, and one full calendar year ago, Zimmerman had better metrics (per Songstats).

“Don’t Mind If I Do” (with Green) wouldn’t drop as an official single until July 2026. “Choosin’ Texas” was after that.

There’s no shame in betting on Bailey in early 2025, and to his credit, his numbers have improved nicely since then.

Higher billing usually means a bigger paycheck as well, which means Stagecoach probably got Langley at a bargain-basement price.

Look for her to be a headliner sometime very soon.