Pulling from one of the greats. There’s simply no denying that Ella Langley is the hottest country singer on the planet at the moment. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few months, you’re well aware that her October single, “Choosin’ Texas,” has been taking the world by storm lately. It’s hard to even state the importance of the track at the moment. Not only did it allow Langley to become the seventh woman in history to top the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, but she also became the first woman ever to triple up and top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. Of course, there’s a lot more on the horizon for Langley. In the middle of “Choosin’ Texas'” massive climb up the charts, back on January 27th, the Alabama native would officially announce that her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Dandelion, would be released on April 11th. Undoubtedly becoming one of the most high-profile album drops of the year in the genre, Langley would note that she wanted it to feel like “the best kind of Sunday afternoon,” and the record really serves as a love letter to her childhood memories and that feeling of nostalgia and freedom: “This record has so much growth in it. I’ve never poured more of myself into a project, into a song, into an idea, and it’s fallen out so beautifully. It’s about learning yourself, making mistakes, and realizing that it’s all just part of life. I want this record to be something that fans can relate to, but also something they want to get up and dance to at the same time. To me, this record feels like fireflies in the summertime. It feels like windows down on a red dirt road. It feels like the best kind of Sunday afternoon.” In the months following, she’s delivered on the promise of a breezy, timeless project with some pre-released tracks such as the carefree title track and the 70s, disco-esque “Be Her.” From the aforementioned tracks to Langley’s overall aesthetics in general, it became abundantly clear that she was going to be leaning pretty heavily into a 70s-inspired sound for Dandelion. And by the looks of it, one of the biggest country stars of the 70s and 80s was a driving force for the project. Celebrating “Choosin’ Texas” going #1 on both country radio, Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and the all-genre Hot 100, Langley sat down for a press conference. During the round of questions, the “weren’t for the wind” singer was asked about the inspiration behind Dandelion. She’d confirm that she has been listening to a lot of 70s, 80s and even late 60s country lately. In particular, she’d note that the “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” singer himself, Ronnie Milsap, was one of the biggest influences on the record. “I was listening to a lot of 70s, 80s country, even some late 60s. Ronnie Milsap was a big inspiration for this record. If you show anyone a Ronnie Milsap song today and you ask them, ‘What genre is this?”, everyone would say, ‘That’s country.’ But back in the day, Ronnie Milsap wasn’t really considered country, and he kind of fought that a little bit.” She’d go on to note how much he respected Milsap for leaning into his sound, which was criticized at the time for incorporating pop and soul elements, and ultimately producing the music he wanted to make. The thing I think was so awesome about him that he dared to do is he just loved making music. I got to meet him a couple weeks ago, and I asked him that question. He said, ‘I was just making music.’ And to me, that’s what music is about. That’s what I want to do for a living; I just want to make music — music that I love singing, too.” Langley would finish by reconfirming that Dandelion will be filled with plenty of fun, groovy tracks such as “Be Her” before expressing how she feels that it’s her most confident record to date. This next record is a lot of that groovy, fun — it’s definitely a summer record. We picked our timing well… It’s more confident than I’ve ever put myself in a record. Though it received plenty of criticism at the time, when you take a look back at Milsap’s discography, it becomes pretty clear that he was way ahead of his time. Of course, you’ll still have your staunch traditionalists who will write off his genre-blending nature, but you can’t deny his musical prowess and the overall quality of his biggest hits. In many ways, he’s the gold standard for experimentation between genres, and Langley is looking to follow in his footsteps here on Dandelion. “Be Her” 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 Booth The post Ella Langley Says Ronnie Milsap Was The Biggest Influence On Her Upcoming Record, ‘Dandelion’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.