Mariah Carey’s 22-week No1 record just got broken by a very different song
Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas (Getty Images)
Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ has become the longest-running No1 hit in Billboard Hot 100 history, reaching 23 weeks at the top of the chart.
The 27-year-old US country singer-songwriter’s run means the track has overtaken Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’, which spent 22 non-consecutive weeks at No1, per Billboard’s chart accounting.
Carey’s festive staple, released in 1994, has long felt like an annual internet event, returning each December (or even earlier…) with memes, covers and the familiar countdown to “it’s time”.
How did ‘Choosin’ Texas’ make Hot 100 history?
‘Choosin’ Texas’ was released in October 2025 as the lead single from Langley’s album Dandelion. It also marked Langley’s first Hot 100 No1.
The song was co-written with Luke Dick, Joybeth Taylor and Miranda Lambert. Langley has described it as coming from a chaotic writers’ retreat moment involving Lambert, and told Rolling Stone in April: “We were at this writers retreat, and I just asked her,” referring to Lambert.
“She had a dog in the back and a kangaroo in the passenger seat, and got pulled over. I said randomly, ‘I’m sure [the police officer] was like, She’s from Texas, I can tell.‘”
Streams, awards attention and Mariah Carey’s Christmas legacy
‘Choosin’ Texas’ has had more than 1.6billion streams worldwide, and its music video has had 86million views so far.
Ahead of the CMA Awards in November, Langley has earned nine nominations in total, including Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year for ‘Choosin’ Texas‘.
In 2024, Carey marked the 30th anniversary of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ with the BBC festive special Mariah Meets Rylan, filmed in Los Angeles, where she discussed the track’s inspirations, including George Michael.
She is now set to head out for a Christmastime tour, with UK dates including Birmingham, London and Manchester.
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