In a post-monoculture era, why has a traditional-tinged country song topped the New Zealand charts for 19 weeks?
7/10
Choosin' Texas—Ella Langley
Topped the NZ charts for 19 weeks, starting on 15 May 2026.
More about my NZ number #1 project.
Chart domination
It’s been a weird 12 months on the NZ singles charts. Between 19 September 2025 and 1 October 2026, five songs ruled the roost. Three of these reigns were brief:
- Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’, first released in December 1984, topped the charts for a week at Christmas.
- Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Stupid Song’ disappeared after a single week.
- Taylor Swift’s ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ popped in for a couple of weeks in October 2025.
Apart from those brief interruptions, two songs ruled the NZ singles charts for a combined 50 weeks. Olivia Dean’s charming ‘Man I Need’ topped the charts for 31 week, while Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ reigned for 19 weeks. There’s a lot to unpack – it’s unusual for a country song to top the charts in New Zealand, while New Zealand’s charts have remained unusually stagnant.
How The End of the monoculture Means Fewer Hit Songs
In 1989, New Zealand launched its third TV channel. Since then, our culture has diversified into silos. With streaming, I can happily listen to 1970s Genesis rarities while my neighbour watches ice hockey. You’d think this diversity would increase the number of songs hitting number one, but it’s done the opposite.
Because our listening habits are so diverse, passive listening is rewarded. Songs played on hit radio and in supermarkets now dominate the charts. It’s noticeable that most recent hits are nice songs that wouldn’t offend your grandmother.
Because there are so many different sources to go to, it’s difficult for songs outside the very biggest songs to become hits. And because of that, those songs take a while to become hits, and then they stay there for the longest period of time — longer than we’ve ever seen in the history of music.
Veteran radio programmer and consultant Guy Zapoleon, Billboard
This effect has been compounded in 2026. Major artists like Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and The Weeknd haven’t released new music this year, which has amplified the echo chamber effect around ‘Man I Need’ and ‘Choosin’ Texas’. The chart methodology needs reworking to reward songs that listeners seek out.
‘Choosin’ Texas’ is even more successful in the US, where it’s now the longest-reigning chart topper in Billboard history.
Choosin’ Texas
Ella Langley was born in Alabama, where she sang in a church choir and sang ‘Froggy Went A Courtin” with her grandfather. After her grandfather died, she inherited his guitar. She taught herself ‘Three Little Birds’ and practised in front of her family’s cow pasture.
Ella Langley originated ‘Choosin’ Texas’ in a writing workshop with Miranda Lambert. Lambert told her stories of her Texas roots, including a story where she was pulled over by an officer with a pet kangaroo in the passenger’s seat.
‘Choosin’ Texas’ is a classic country story song. There’s a pop/rock sheen to the guitars, but it’s relatively traditional and pleasant. I can’t stomach a lot of modern country, but ‘Choosin’ Texas’ is pleasant. It’s not a song I would have picked to smash chart records, but it’s a solid piece of song craftsmanship.
The aftermath
On 2 October 2026, Taylor Swift captured the top spot with ‘Patient Zero’. I’m interested to see if Langley adds to her current run or tops the chart again.
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I don’t argue against the death of the monoculture, but doesn’t the fact that a country song with Texas in the title topping the NZ charts for so long suggest that an even bigger (American) monoculture has taken its place?
New Zealand has changed from being a balance of UK and US culture, and other bits and pieces, to being more influenced by the US. But it also feels that the massively long chart stays from Man I Need and Choosin’ Texas are a product of the fragmentation allowing passive listening to dominate.
The immense chart success of “Choosin’ Texas” in New Zealand, the U.S. and elsewhere is remarkable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible song. That said, I find it rather generic. It could have been composed by AI!
Spontaneously, “Choosin’ Texas” reminds me of country music trio Lady Antebellum, now called Lady B. I guess what makes this song and Lady B. hits like “Need You Now” work for mass audiences is their crossover into pop, which has become a very common formula in country.
It is similar to Need You Now – which I think is a stronger song. It’s slick, but I think there’s some solid songwriting there. Good not great though, in my book.
It’s so fractured… there is so many places to go to listen. The charts…I mean when every song on an album is chart material…everything seems up in the air.
I like the song alright…I wouldn’t buy it…but it’s better than a lot of modern country.
It’s pretty normal for an entire album from a big artist to occupy the top twenty. I guess it’s fine if that reflects what people are listening to – I prefer that than the chart reflecting passive listening.
I’m gobsmacked by the enduring popularity of “Choosin’ Texas”. That’s all I’m going to say about it.