‘Ella-bration’! Langley Becomes First Woman to Score Three Simultaneous Top 10s on Country Airplay
“Be Her” holds at No. 1 as “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” with Morgan Wallen, rises to No. 10.
Ella Langley earns her second multiweek No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Be Her” holds the lead for a second week on the ranking dated June 13. It drew 31.9 million audience impressions (up 7%) May 22-28, according to Luminate.
“Be Her” follows “Choosin’ Texas,” Langley’s only other multiweek leader, which ruled for three nonconsecutive weeks in February and March and rebounds a rank to No. 5 (24.1 million).
Langley’s momentum extends beyond those two songs. Her Morgan Wallen collaboration, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” rises three spots to No. 10 on Country Airplay (18.1 million, up 12%) — making her the first woman ever to place three titles inside the top 10 simultaneously. Only Wallen has done so otherwise, for a week in 2023. The track becomes Langley’s sixth top 10 and Wallen’s 24th.
With three Langley songs near the top of Country Airplay, radio is making room for all of them. Adams Radio WBTU Fort Wayne, Ind. program director Randy Alomar isn’t worried about burn. “’Choosin’ Texas’ is the biggest song of the year so far and it’s still being played because it’s an absolute monster — on pop stations, too,” he tells Billboard, with the song up to No. 6 on Adult Pop Airplay and No. 15 on Pop Airplay.
He adds, “‘Be Her’ is an amazing follow-up.”
Radio One Houston director of operations Travis Moon, who handles day-to-day programming for country KKBQ, shares the sentiment. “I’ve not seen ‘love’ scores like this on a female artist since Shania Twain when I was KEEY in Minneapolis, so this is generational stuff,” he adds. “She has been a real gift to our format, and I think it’s transformational for all of us. She’s so freaking huge.”
Both “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas” remain in power rotations at KKBQ. “Between research and the fact that four of the top five streaming country songs in Houston are hers, there’s an expectation from my core audience to be playing her a lot,” Moon continues. “It’s an Ella-bration in Houston!”
The demand is clear, even if the release calendar is tricky. “Timing in terms of releasing these songs is a tough job, and I’m glad I don’t have it,” Alomar says. “Country radio needs Ella and more female superstars just like her.”
Solo women have rarely enjoyed extended stays atop Country Airplay. In the chart’s 36-year history, 58 songs by solo women have led for multiple weeks, accounting for roughly 13% of all multiweek No. 1s. Those runs have tended to come in waves, from the late-1990s success of Twain, Faith Hill and Jo Dee Messina to Carrie Underwood’s dominance in the 2000s and a smaller number of recent standouts.
All charts dated June 13 will update Tuesday, June 9, on Billboard.com.