Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert have quickly become one of country music’s closest duos. They have formed a close bond over the last couple of years, especially while collaborating on Ella’s new album, Dandelion.
Langley and Lambert became instant friends the second they met. Miranda has been one of Ella’s biggest musical influences, and meeting her was something Langley had dreamed about for years.
Ella recalled the day they finally met after being introduced by a mutual friend, saying, “I sat down at a BMI Awards show, actually was the first time that we met. Natalie Hemby introduced us, a fellow co-writer of ours, and she just left me at the table with my like, icon. I grew up just loving her music, loving what she stood for, how she held herself as a woman and as an artist. And I don’t know, I just always felt this calling to work with her in some big way. I don’t really know how to explain it other than I just felt that and ended up telling her that at a…I did an award show or something.”
Miranda chimed in, adding, “I think it was on the red carpet. You just grab me by the
shoulders. You’re like, ‘We’re gonna work together.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ Because as
you can tell, if you know Ella at all, when she sets her mind to something, it’s happening. And I’m pretty strong too, but I was like, this girl knows what she wants. I guess we’re gonna work together.”
As Langley’s career continues to skyrocket, Lambert has remained one of her biggest supporters both personally and professionally. After performing “Kerosene” with Lambert on last year’s ACM Awards, Ella talked backstage about their friendship.
“She’s been somebody who’s just taken me under her wing and treated me like family and just been somebody who, when I’m at, you know, a low or a high, she’s there to talk me through either one because she’s been there before. And it’s a very small amount of people that have been through a situation like this before,” the Alabama native said. “So, she’s definitely one that I could take advice from and know I’m getting good advice.”
That connection quickly turned into a creative partnership. Ella Langley’s massive hit “Choosin’ Texas,” co-written with Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor, has become one of the biggest country songs of the year. The track earned multiple nominations at the 61st ACM Awards, including Song of the Year and Single of the Year, while also dominating the Billboard charts with a nine-week run at No. 1.
The list of achievements for the song continues, none of which neither Ella nor Miranda could have predicted. “I mean, we loved the song when we wrote it. It was the song that I think me and Miranda clicked on where it was like, all right, we’re gonna work together in a
bigger way,” Langley said. “But did we think it could do something like this? I don’t know if you can predict that.”
“No, absolutely not,” Lambert agreed. “My favorite thing about it is it’s a country song
and it was universal. And the music that we love got a big shot in the world, and that
makes me happy. It just really put a platform for a great country song and true country
songwriters to have like this moment that doesn’t happen that often.”
What started as a dream collaboration has turned into one of the strongest friendships in country music today.
Fans will get to see both Ella and Miranda take the stage this Sunday at the ACM Awards! Lambert is nominated for eight awards this year while Langley is nominated with seven.
The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards is streaming LIVE only on Prime Video from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Experience Country Music’s greatest chart toppers on one star-studded stage. From surprise guests to cross-genre collaborations, this is a LIVE and ALIVE show with end-to-end performances you can’t miss, including performances by Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green, Thomas Rhett, and many more!
Watch LIVE Sunday at 8e|5p only on Prime Video. The ACM Awards will be FREE to stream live. No Prime membership required.