Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ Is Billboard’s 2026 Song of the Summer

Ella Langley’s "Choosin’ Texas" is the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart for 2026. This marks a historic milestone for country music, as the genre occupies the top three spots on the season-ending ranking for the first time. Taylor Swift’s "I Knew It, I Knew You" follows at No. 2, marking her highest ever season-ending rank and surpassing the No. 3 peak of "Bad Blood" in 2015. Langley’s "Be Her" takes No. 3 after peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100. Both of Langley's tracks remained in the Hot 100 top 10 every week between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The Songs of the Summer chart tracks performance on the Billboard Hot 100 from Memorial Day through Labor Day, which in 2026 covered charts dated June 6 through September 12. Songs that appeared on the 2025 summer chart or peaked on the Hot 100 during or before summer 2025 were ineligible for this year's ranking. "Choosin’ Texas" has spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, including 11 consecutive weeks since July 4. It is now one week away from tying the all-time record of 22 weeks held by Mariah Carey’s "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

According to Billboard, "Choosin’ Texas" is the first champion in 30 years to have entered the Hot 100 in a prior year. It debuted on the chart in 2025 following its October release. The last song to achieve this was Los Del Rio’s "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" in 1996, which spent 14 weeks at No. 1. During the 2026 summer tracking period, Langley’s hit drew 407 million official U.S. streams and sold 124,000 downloads.

The 2026 season continues a period of growth for country music. In August, country titles claimed the entire top five of the Hot 100 for the first time. This follows 2023 and 2024, when the genre held the top two spots on the summer chart. In 2025, Morgan Wallen finished at Nos. 2, 3, and 4 with tracks from I’m the Problem. This year, Langley and Wallen also reached No. 7 with their collaboration "I Can’t Love You Anymore."

Ariana Grande’s "Hate That I Made You Love Me" finished at No. 4, her highest summer ranking since "Problem" was No. 3 in 2014. Drake’s "Janice STFU" took No. 5 after leading the tally in its first week. Olivia Dean’s "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" was the summer's biggest radio hit with 1 billion in airplay audience, finishing at No. 8. These rankings follow other notable movements, such as when Alex Warren’s WILDCHILD Debuts at No. 1 on Two Billboard Charts.