More history for “Choosin’ Texas.” Though Morgan Wallen has blown expectations through the roof in terms of all-genre hit songs over the past few years with the likes of “Last Night” and “Heartless,” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” has been flying up the charts in a way rarely done before for a country song. If you haven’t been paying attention to just how successful it’s been, let me give you a quick rundown of all the history it’s made over the past three months. Upon its release on October 7th, the track debuted at #37 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, also launching all the way to #7 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, both of which were career-highs for the “hungover” singer. Flashforward to December 2nd, it became Langley’s first career #1 hit on the aforementioned Hot Country Songs chart. In turn, it became the fastest solo female song to reach the top 10 at US Country Radio this decade, taking just eight weeks to crack the Top 10. Thanks to an incredible amount of buzz online and a last-minute push by fans, on Monday, February 9th, she went #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with the monster track. Additionally, she became the first woman ever to triple up and score #1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously. In case you were wondering just how rare the feat was, Langley became just the seventh female artist IN HISTORY to go #1 on the Hot 100 with a country song. Making even more history last week, the “weren’t for the wind” singer would team up with Megan Moroney to become the only female country duo in history to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and 200 charts simultaneously, a feat that legends such as Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and many more all-time greats in the genre have never done. This was thanks to “Choosin’ Texas” spending its second week at #1 on the Hot 100 and Moroney’s junior album, Cloud 9, debuting at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. Just when you thought Langley was done making chart history, she joined elite company once again this week. With “Choosin’ Texas” still holding strong at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, it was joined by her other red-hot single, “Be Her,” which rose from #3 to #2 this frame. In turn, the Alabama native is now the third female artist in the history of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart to occupy the top two spots, joining the likes of only Taylor Swift (“Red” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” in Oct. 2012) and Beyoncé (“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “II Most Wanted” in April 2024). Of course, while Taylor started out as a country singer, Red was the album where she first started to experiment with more pop sounds. Beyonce isn’t a country singer, and Cowboy Carter was explicitly not a country album according to Beyonce herself, so one could make argument that Ella is the only female country artist ever to accomplish this impressive feat. Even broadening the feat to male artists, Langley becomes just the ninth artist in history to simultaneously score the #1 and #2 songs on the chart. With this, she joins Buck Owens, Willie Nelson, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Dan + Shay, as well as the aforementioned Swift and Beyoncé, to ever accomplish this. “Choosin’ Texas” The Dandelion Tour Dates 5/7/2026 Toledo, OH Huntington Center (+,&) 5/8/2026 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena (+,&) 5/14/2026 Estero, FL Hertz Arena (@, &) 5/15/2026 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena (@, &) 6/18/2026 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre (+,&) 6/19/2026 Independence, MO Cable Dahmer Arena (+,&) 6/25/2026 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center (+,&) 6/26/2026 Wilmington, NC Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park (+,&) 7/23/2026 Pikeville, KY Appalachian Wireless Arena (#, %) 7/24/2026 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre (#, %) 7/25/2026 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum (#, %) 7/30/2026 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion (@, %) 7/31/2026 Canandaigua, NY CMAC (@, %) 8/13/2026 Austin, TX Moody Center (#, &) 8/14/2026 Corpus Christi, TX Hilliard Center (#, &) 8/15/2026 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena (#, &) @ Kameron Marlowe + Dylan Marlowe # Kaitlin Butts & Gabriella Rose % Laci Kaye BoothThe post Ella Langley Becomes The Third Female Artist In History To Score The Top Two Spots On Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Let this be a lesson to all the aspiring artists out there. While it’s definitely changed over the past decade or so, it seems like there’s still this commonly-held belief that the best way to become a superstar in country music is to get a deal with a major label. And that’s not to say that there aren’t benefits to getting a record deal: Labels have deep pockets and decades of experience in the music industry, as well as connections that are invaluable when it comes to getting your music produced or promoted. But over the past decade, we’ve seen more and more independent artists who are choosing to forego – or at least postpone – the major label and still finding mainstream success. And as it turns out, if you can do that, you might end up making quite a bit more money on down the road. Without getting too into the weeds of how recording contracts work, often times labels will front the money for an artist to record and release their album. Basically, the label gives them the money upfront, but the artist has to pay that amount back when the checks start coming in. (There’s generally at least a portion that’s not recoupable and doesn’t have to be paid back). Obviously though, a label isn’t going to front massive amounts of money to an artist just to recoup their initial investment: They want to make a buttload more off of that artist. So if they’re putting up an advance for an artist, that means the artist’s contract is going to be structured in a way that the label can profit on the back end of the deal – through percentages of their album sales, ticket sales, even merch sales and other revenue streams that don’t necessarily have to do with the music. But if an artist comes in and DOESN’T need that advance, and isn’t dependant on the label to sell tickets and promote their music…well, that artist has a lot more leverage to get a better contract that will allow them to keep a lot more money down the road. (This is all a gross oversimplification, but you get the general idea). That’s exactly why Luke Combs says getting passed over by his record label was one of the best things that ever happened to him. Luke is gearing up to drop his sixth studio album, The Way I Am, on March 20, and ahead of the album’s release he stopped by the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast where he discussed his early days of moving to Nashville and trying to make it in the music industry. The “Hurricane” singer would eventually sign a deal with Sony Music Nashville, where he’s still at today. But Sony passed on Luke the first time – something that would ultimately work out pretty well, because by the time they DID decide to sign him, he had more leverage in the negotiating process: “I got passed on by Sony my first year in Nashville, and then I ended up signing wtih them two years later, and that is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Because two years later I’ve got, my first album is done, I basically own the entire thing, I license it to the label, I’m already selling out my own shows. So then when it comes down to negotiating the points of the deal, I’m like, ‘Well I could just not sign and keep doing what I’m doing. I don’t NEED to sign.'” Of course he also recognized one major benefit to signing with a label: Their ability to get your song played on radio. “You couldn’t do that on your own. You need a team that knows how to play ball.” But because he had already established himself as an artist, with both a completed record in hand and an established fanbase that was buying tickets for his shows, Luke wasn’t desperate to sign a record deal – which gave him some leverage to negotiate a deal that would pay off for him in the long run because he didn’t need the advance “I’m like, ‘Don’t need it.’ I’d rather have the the percentage points back over time and say, ‘Well, maybe you guys keep no percentage of my merch and no percentage of my tickets and you keep 10% of the record because it’s huge now.’ So, the 10% may be more than the deal you were already offering me.” Now, that’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with one way or the other, and it’s not even a slight at the record labels: If they’re taking the risk and paying millions of dollars to sign an artist and put out an album before they even know whether they’ll get that money back, I completely understand why they’d want to ensure that they’re able to profit if that album takes off. For every Luke Combs at a label, there are 10 more artists who never reach his level of success. And there’s no doubt that the relationship between Luke and Sony has been a profitable one for both sides. I have a feeling they’re both ecstatic about how things worked out now that Luke’s one of the biggest names in country music. But it just goes to show you: Sometimes it’s better to wait than taking the first deal that comes your way. Or as in Luke’s case, it can be a blessing in disguise to not get offered a deal at all. The post Luke Combs Explains Why Being Passed Up By His Record Label Ended Up Making Him A Ton Of Money first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

You love to see it. The World Baseball Classic kicked off last week, and it’s already looking like a promising year for Team USA. In case you missed it, Team USA actually fell short in the 2023 tournament, where Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out his Angels teammate, Mike Trout, to seal the championship in one of the greatest moments in international baseball history. This year, however, they’re looking to get some revenge, and they’re bringing a whole lot of star power with them. Simply put, Team USA is stacked this year. Highlighted by the likes of Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Bregman and more on offense, the pitching staff is equally as talented with reigning NL Cy Young winner, Paul Skenes, leading the staff along with Dodgers’ legend Clayton Kershaw, Logan Webb, Clay Holmes and other stars across the MLB. So far, Team USA has gotten off to a hot start. Their first matchup against Brazil resulted in a 15-5 beatdown thanks to a 7-run ninth inning. Game two produced similar results. Continuing America’s storied history of beating the British, they defeated Great Britain handily, 9-1, thanks to a moonshot from Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and a four-hit game from the Orioles’ shortstop, Gunner Henderson. Last night, they remained undefeated in less flashy fashion. After another brilliant start from Skenes, who went four innings with one hit and seven strikeouts, and a pair of home runs from Judge and the Red Sox’s young star, Roman Anthony, Mexico would come back in the game before falling short with a score of 5-3. Though the first round of the tournament hasn’t even ended, with Team USA set to play their final game of the set tonight against Italy, it’s looking like they’ll be the team to beat, along with the likes of Japan and the Dominican Republic. While, of course, you can thank the sheer star power of all the major leaguers on the roster for their success, their secret so far may be country music. In case you missed it, manager Mark DeRosa already had the squad fired up listening to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, a favorite in the Team USA hockey locker room (and at the after party), before the tournament even began. According to MLB.com, DeRosa said Anthony was tasked with buying a big old speaker for the bus ride, which was blasting none other than Keith. “He obviously was forced to go buy a gigantic speaker, and they had Toby Keith blasting.” Anthony added that he wasn’t in charge of the playlist, just securing a Bluetooth speaker for the team: “I don’t touch the music. I had the duty of getting the speaker, making sure it was there today, and then handing it over to the guys who want to play the music.” It doesn’t just stop at Toby Keith, however. Cubs star, Alex Bregman, took to TikTok on Sunday during the team’s off day to share a video of himself, Harper, Skenes, Judge, Cubs teammate, Pete Crow Armstrong, and more in the locker room with none other than Ella Langley’s all-genre Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, “Choosin’ Texas,” playing in the background. @alexbregmanFarm Show USA ♬ Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley Even before the tournament began, Bregman was keeping the country music coming on his socials. After Team USA played a pair of scrimmage games against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants, the Cubs star would take to Instagram with photos of himself, along with Harper and Judge repping America, with Riley Green’s “Different ‘Round Here” accompanying the post. Unsurprisingly, Green’s now-famous lyric, “We stand for the flag, and if you don’t like it, we don’t care”kicks off the post. View this post on Instagram The “Worst Way” singer would show his support for Bregman and Team USA in response, simply dropping “” in the comments. Though it’s still too early to tell, it looks like Team USA will be on a crash course with either Japan or the Dominican Republic once the dust is settled in the first rounds of the tournament. If they end up reclaiming the title later this month, we might have to thank country music for firing the boys up.The post Team USA Is On A Roll In The World Baseball Classic… & They’re Listening To A LOT Of Country Music first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

'The Madison' begins on March 14 on Paramount+, but new pictures from Ep. 1 offer clues about what happens. Continue reading…