I was so distracted by Ella Langley’s history-making success with ‘Choosin’ Texas’ that I didn’t realize she had another hit hot on its heels.
Langley shows up at #4 on the latest Hot 100 with ‘Be Her,’ the second single from her latest album, Dandelion. ‘Be Her’ entered the Hot 100 at #18 nine weeks ago and has steadily climbed to its current peak. Could it go even higher, and maybe even give the new country star her second chart-topper?
At #2 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 is Olivia Dean’s ‘Man I Need,’ which I first wrote about back in November when it was at #5. Talk about staying power. Dean’s track has been in the Hot 100 for 34 weeks now, and has spent much of this year in the top five, but it has so far peaked at #2.
At #3 is Bruno Mars’ ‘I Just Might,’ which spent three weeks at #1 after debuting there in early January. The lead single from Mars’ latest album The Romantic, this is his first track to debut at #1.
I haven’t done a new installment of ‘What the Kids Are Listening To’ since last November (not counting the year-end roundup) so I figured it was time to check back in with the latest chart-toppers.
I’m excited by the song at #1 on the latest edition of the Hot 100: Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas.’ This surprise hit was co-written by my beloved Miranda Lambert, and I’m always happy to see her get her flowers, even indirectly.
Most of the credit is due to Langley, of course, who co-wrote the track and performs it with a mix of melancholy and grit. But indulge me as I celebrate both of these women.
The Mamas and the Papas held the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of May 3, 1966, with ‘Monday, Monday,’ a song I featured on the blog during a post about my favorite movies of the 2010s (it appeared in the great documentary Tower).
At #2 that week, dropping from its chart-topping position a week prior, was The Young Rascals’ ‘Good Lovin’.’ This was the second single from the band’s eponymous debut album and their first of three #1 hits (1967’s ‘Groovin” and 1968’s ‘People Got to Be Free’ would follow).
Throwing back to the week of May 2, 1956, we find Elvis Presley holding on to the top spot with ‘Heartbreak Hotel‘ with Perry Como’s ‘Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)‘ and Les Baxter’s ‘The Poor People of Paris‘ in the second and third spots.
At #4 was a song many associate with Presley but one that was written and recorded by Carl Perkins first: ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ Presley’s version was recorded around the same time as Perkins’ but wasn’t released as a single until later in 1956 out of respect for the original (at the time, it was very common for multiple versions of a song to be released simultaneously).
Meet Me In Montauk 