Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Feb. 14, making her the first solo woman to lead the all-genre ranking, Hot Country Songs (likewise a multimetric chart) and Country Airplay simultaneously. In the same week, the single completed a 16-week climb to No. 1 on Country Airplay — the quickest for a solo woman without any co-billed acts since 2016 — after needing just six weeks to reach the top of Hot Country Songs, where it extended its reign to 11 weeks.

Behind the milestone was unusually swift movement at radio. Programmers across major groups, markets and formats say they identified early signals, elevated the record quickly and saw fast affirmation in research and listener response, momentum that helped turn a strong start into a historic week.

Early Signals

“We’re not any more cautious these days than in the past. In fact, we have more resources than ever to identify big hits quickly,” Rod Phillips, evp of programming for iHeartCountry, tells Billboard. “In this case, it was impossible not to notice the fan engagement at every level.”

Phillips says the first signs about the potential for the song, released Oct. 17, 2025, came provincially. “This really started from our local program directors responding to the music not only as a personal favorite but also via airplay on their stations,” he notes. “Add to that the impressive consumption story, and you now have one of the fasting chart-climbing songs of the last year or more.”

The signals weren’t isolated, Phillips adds. “It wasn’t one thing we were noticing. It was, in fact, everything.”

From Add to Power

In Houston, that alignment translated into immediate movement. “Early indications from the audience were over the top,” says Bruce Logan, vp of programming for Audacy’s portfolio in the market, which includes country station KILT. “We added in sub-power and took it to power five days later. The research showed it was a hit within two weeks of starting to play it.”

Houston’s five-day leap to full power rotation (around 70 plays a week for KILT) wasn’t an outlier; it reflected how the record moved in several key markets. Rather than building gradually through lower rotations, “Choosin’ Texas” advanced in visible jumps once early listener signals registered, which shortened the traditional airplay curve. Over the last decade, Country Airplay leaders have typically required around 30 weeks to reach No. 1; Langley’s took 16.

Organic Reaction

For Christi Brooks, director of branding and programming for Cox Media Group’s KCYY-FM and KKYX-AM in San Antonio, Texas, the song’s appeal surfaced before formal research entered the equation.

“Honestly, it was my 16-year-old daughter,” Brooks tells Billboard. “She’s my music lover, and of all kinds of music, not just country. The song came out, and she knew every word less than 24 hours later.”

The song seemed to be everywhere, she says. “Sitting in traffic coming out of someone’s car window, out shopping, even in the grocery store and nightlife ecosystem,” Brooks continues. “My afternoon jock Brody is the DJ at [one of the most popular] dancehalls in San Antonio, and he said it was packing the dancefloor every time he played it.”

Sound That Cut Through

Brooks points to both the song’s traditional lean and its emotional tone as key differentiators. “The audience has so much variety in country to choose from right now that if you sound country, you are probably going to cut through,” she explains. “And this is a heartbreak song by a female that doesn’t feel sad and she’s not angry. It’s like she’s accepting defeat gracefully.”

The regional hook was obvious in Texas, as well. “‘He always loved ‘Amarillo by Morning’/ I should have taken that as a warning’ — are you kidding me?” Brooks says. “She put George Strait in a song about Texas without saying George Strait! So good!”

Beyond Country Lanes

The song’s momentum soon extended beyond country radio. In Houston, “The CHR here has started playing it in the past seven days,” Logan notes.

Brooks’ sister station, adult pop, or hot AC, outlet KSMG, has also added the track. “I immediately thought, ‘Please don’t kill it!’” she recalls, concerned about potential burn across shared female-leaning audiences. “I’m happy to say it didn’t.”

At the format more broadly — with “Choosin’ Texas” up to No. 22 in its third week on the Adult Pop Airplay chart — genre boundaries can be secondary to performance. “We have to play hit music for women 25 to 54,” says Audacy vp of hot AC programming Steve Salhany. “And whatever genre it comes from really doesn’t matter. Early on, I could see the metrics of this record, [and it’s] definitely a smash.”

Per that reach, the song grew to 22.1 million official streams and 12,000 sold in the United States Jan. 30-Feb. 5, according to Luminate. On radio, it ran up 34.4 million all-format audience impressions in that span. (Columbia, to which Langley is signed, is promoting it to pop formats, while Triple Tigers is working country.)

Meanwhile, Salhany isn’t convinced “Choosin’ Texas” is a traditional country song at all. “I hear a pop record, no more country than [Billy Ray Cyrus’ 1992 juggernaut] ‘Achy Breaky Heart,’” he muses. “I’ve been doing hot AC since the mid-‘90s. Whether it was Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Keith Urban or Tim McGraw, when you have hit records, you have hit records.”

“Choosin’ Texas” concurrently debuted at No. 38 on the Feb. 14-dated Pop Airplay chart. On SiriusXM’s pop channel Hits 1, the evaluation was similarly driven by listener response rather than genre alignment. “Ella proved her mass appeal almost immediately through listener reaction, and that’s what matters most to us,” says the satellite broadcaster’s vp of music programming Alex Tear. “Hits 1 has always been about pop in the truest sense of the word — popular music regardless of genre.”

That approach puts Langley shoulder to shoulder with pop’s biggest stars. “We move in real time with what’s breaking culturally, while staying predictive about what’s next, and Ella fits perfectly,” Tear continues. “Playing her next to Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter or Bad Bunny feels exactly in step with where our listeners want to be.”

The Convergence

The six-week sprint to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs demonstrated early demand for Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” The 16-week climb on Country Airplay showed how quickly radio responded. When those curves converged atop the Hot 100, the result was a historically standout chart triumph, and the first of its kind for a solo woman.

Radio programmers describe that culmination not as surprise, but as confirmation.

It’s been 10 years since Jon Pardi released his breakthrough album California Sunrise.

Apparently, it’s time to reboot.

Sunrise, released on June 17, 2016, stomped the competition when it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums. Pardi kicked off its promotion with “Head Over Boots,” then followed it with “Dirt on my Boots,” both of which topped Country Airplay. That, it was widely believed, would be the end of the “boot” songs.

Pardi’s thoughts changed, though, when he struggled to relax during a post-show routine in 2023. After ripping through a concert performance, he found it difficult to free his heels and toes from confinement.

“Sometimes when you’re wearing boots all night – especially Lucchesi, it’s real leather – they heat up and they’re hard to get off,” he says. “I was like, ‘Man, if it was coming down in prime time, and it was your time to go have some fun, you know – I can’t get my boots off quick enough – that’s a fun kind of saying.’”

Pardi carried that idea into the room during an Aug. 1, 2023, writing session with Luke Laird (“Pontoon,” “Am I Okay?”) and Wyatt McCubbin (“Sounds Like the Radio,” “Good Times & Tan Lines”) at Creative Nation on Nashville’s Music Row. Laird co-wrote “Head Over Boots,” so he, in particular, knew the unofficial moratorium Pardi had placed on “boot” themes.

“I’m like, ‘Well, he’s the artist, and he brought that in, so I guess we’re doing a boot song,’” Laird remembers. “Which I’m fine with, but it’s just so funny.”

If there were any doubts about proceeding, they faded when Pardi poured energy into the process. He was as enthusiastic in that setting as he is on stage.

“He’s a tornado in the best way, because he keeps a room moving,” McCubbin says. “With ‘Boots Off,’ it was immediate, just boots stomping on the floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if Music Row heard us that morning, just because it was so much energy, and so loud and fun, and honestly, it matches the the entire song. It started that way and kept going that way and obviously ended that way.”

Pardi had a bit of a melodic idea – it wasn’t clear if he meant it to be sung or to be an intro fragment – but Laird fleshed it out quickly on guitar, and it created a grinding signature instrumental lick for the song. “It’s like a little ‘ronka, ronka’ kind of guitar thing,” Pardi says. “It just kind of came together.”

That gave them a solid starting point, and they worked through the song in order, front to back, knowing they were headed to the “Can’t get my boots off quick enough” hook. They cast it as a couples song, rather than a singles night out, introducing the characters’ itch to go out dancing. When they reached the chorus, Pardi came up with a soaring opening line – “He is a melody machine,” McCubbin suggests – before they even had words to go with it.

That happened with the chorus’ second line, too, with Pardi introducing a slight pause that, once it had lyrics, gives him a spot to take a breath and puts a half-beat hesitation before the phrase is over. That ends up working as a unique hook: “There’s a whole lot more than a pretty good … [gulp] chance.”

“That push is where me and Luke Laird look at each other and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, let’s do that,’ because that’s not something that anyone other than Jon Pardi sings in that room for the very first time,” McCubbin says. “All of a sudden, it feels like something you’ve grown up with and heard your whole life that’s already a hit in a weird way.”

In verse two, they skipped the stereotypical truck when they needed transportation home. Instead, the couple gives instructions to a driver to get them back to the house fast. They’ve presumably taken an Uber or Lyft ride – “more of a modern way” to travel, Pardi says, before he breaks into a sarcastic snicker: “We’re going way deeper than what the song actually is.”

Eventually, the second and third choruses ran longer than the first, with an extra, energetic line – “She starts turnin’ me on and turnin’ it up” – emphasizing the action that’s in store. There’s a chance they wrote that piece into all three choruses but ended up dropping it from the first along the way.

“It gives the song a nice build,” Laird says. “You still get a little bit of repetitiveness, but then, as it builds, you get those extra couple lines in there.”

Laird produced the demo, playing that sig lick on a country-sounding Telecaster, though he intentionally kept it spare – two guitars, a drumbeat, bass and Pardi’s vocal – knowing that producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Miranda Lambert) prefers it that way. “If you try to fully develop it too much, it probably just cuts into his creativity,” Laird theorizes. “You do want to kind of leave it open. I’ve had that experience with Jay a lot of times.”

Pardi recorded with his road band, augmented by three additional musicians – Joyce, plus guitarists Rob McNelley and Jeff Hyde – enhancing the intensity beyond the demo by incorporating snarling slide guitar. The twisty sig lick was reimagined with two electric guitars in unison – one rockin’, one country – and they sped up the tempo by one beat per minute underneath the guitar solo as they built a track that’s as much 1980s Bon Jovi or 1990s Black Crowes as 2020s country.

“Country is the new rock ‘n’ roll in some aspects,” Pardi says. “It’s just a rock ‘n’ roll country song.”

With a touch of Will Farrell. After they tracked the instrumental foundation, drummer Kevin Murphy overdubbed an insistent cowbell. “That is all Jay Joyce,” Pardi says. “He’s the only guy that was like, ‘Cowbell.’ Then we heard it, and we’re like, ‘Okay, now we need the cowbell.’”

Pardi played it live for the first time on March 20, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, inserting it right before “Dirt on my Boots” in the set list. “It just lit up,” Pardi recalls.

Capitol Nashville released “Boots Off” to country radio via PlayMPE on Dec. 15. It’s boot-scooted to No. 41 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Feb. 14 after three weeks on the list.

“It speaks for itself,” Pardi says. “It’s just fun, and it’s my 10-year anniversary ‘boot’ song. Hopefully it’s a ‘boot’ trifecta No. 1.”

Cailin Russo captured widespread attention this year when her 2018 song “Bad Things” was featured in the end credits of Season 1 of the buzzy Crave drama series Heated Rivalry, introducing her to a global television audience. Yet her rise to prominence has been years in the making, marked by a diverse body of work that spans music, visual media and high-profile collaborations.

Now, still scorching from her Heated moment, Russo is releasing a new EP, DON’T, on March 11th alongside a new single today, “I Can’t Help You Now,” which is her first new music release since the runway success of “Bad Things.” She’s also set to tour this upcoming spring for her Bad Things Tour.

“I’ll perform old and new music,” She tells Billboard of the upcoming tour. “I will definitely perform ‘Bad Things.’ I have to give the people what they want!”

Russo initially stepped into the public eye in 2012 with her appearance in Justin Bieber’s “All That Matters” music video, a breakout moment that established her as a compelling on-screen presence. She continued to expand her creative reach with “Phoenix,” the anthemic track created for League of Legends, further solidifying her crossover appeal within both the music and gaming worlds.

Beyond her performances, Russo has earned critical recognition as a songwriter. Her contributions to Kanye West’s DONDA secured her a nomination for Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys. Together, these milestones reflect an artist whose career has evolved through strategic collaborations, genre-spanning projects, and a steadily growing cultural footprint.

Born and raised in San Diego, Russo grew up immersed in music from an early age, with a father who performed in a pop-punk band and made live instrumentation and creative collaboration part of her everyday life. Surrounded by music at home and influenced by her proximity to Los Angeles’ vibrant music scene, she developed both her artistic instincts and ambitions early on. Rooted firmly in rock, her sound reflects inspiration from No Doubt and The Rolling Stones while maintaining a style that is distinctly her own.

“I get a lot of inspiration from going to concerts,” she says. “I’m keeping my mind more open and receptive to all types of concepts and words that stand out. I’m into pushing the envelope musically.”

Her breakout track “Bad Things,” draws clear inspiration from the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” yet it carries a voice and edge entirely her own. Reflecting on the song’s origins eight years ago, Russo recalls writing it in a single day alongside collaborator, Gianluca Buccellati, ultimately landing on the now-beloved refrain, “I want to do bad things with you.”

The creative process was instinctive and unapologetically bold. “It had the sexual nature… hot, leather… saddle up cowboy,” she tells Billboard while describing how the track’s sultry, rebellious tone came together almost effortlessly.

At the time, however, Russo’s life looked far less glamorous. In October, while working a retail job, she was asked to have her team clear the song for Heated Rivalry while in between retail shifts. Similar to Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, Russo balanced a regular day job while steadfastly pursuing her creative ambitions. The contrast was stark: industry breakthroughs unfolding in tandem with everyday responsibilities. “I had no idea it would be such a big show,” she admits.

What happened next was organic and powerful. The fans found the show — and in turn, they found Cailin Russo. Her rapid rise in attention and on streaming translated into chart action, with “Bad Things” raching No. 5 on the Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales Chart early this year. “This is something people dream of,” she tells Billboard. Yet beyond the numbers and visibility, Russo remains grounded in purpose. Describing the experience as “so wholesome, iconic,” she emphasizes what matters most to her: “I’m so happy to create a safe space for the LGBTQ [community].”

Since “Bad Things” surged in popularity, Russo admits the moment was not without its complications. “It threw me through an identity crisis,” she shares, reflecting on the tension between the youthful spirit that fueled the track and the maturity she has gained since it’s release in 2018. While she remains grateful that the song continues to create a space where listeners feel seen and safe, she acknowledges the personal evolution that comes with time. “There’s a stark difference between [being] a 22-year-old and a 32-year-old; there’s a lot more maturity,” she notes. 

Russo approaches that growth with humor and perspective. Joking about “digital footprints,” a playful nod to Hudson Williams’ viral portrayal of “Land Leopard” from his university days, she laughs easily, underscoring her belief that creativity should always carry a sense of silliness. “You have to laugh during a session to make sure it’s a good song,” she says, adding that whether something is clever or silly, “you have to celebrate it.”

Embracing the past as part of the story has brought renewed attention to her 2018 album, House With a Pool, now rediscovered by a wider audience. After scoring about 1,000 official on-demand U.S. streams a week in the pre-Heated Rivalry period, the album now racks up around 140,000 total weekly streams, according to Luminate. Though she initially had no plans to create a music video for “Bad Things,” overwhelming fan demand changed her mind, and she delivered, releasing the long-awaited video in January 2026, a testament to the community that helped propel the song’s resurgence.

Coming out the day before Valentine’s Day, her latest single, “I Can’t Help You Now,” arrives with impeccable timing. “We love a dramatic drop,” she said with a smile. The track, written by one of her friends, was a gift she describes as both flattering and creatively invigorating. Calling it “an incredible song,” Russo embraces the opportunity to weave in her own personal reflections, shaping it into a sharp, emotionally charged anthem about breakups and self-worth. Anchored by the biting lyric, “You fumbled a gangster,” the song captures love lost with equal parts vulnerability and edginess.

The single, part of her new EP, DON’T, also signals a clear evolution in her artistry. While her distinctive essence remains intact, there is a noticeable growth in her lyrical depth. Her newer work leans into themes that reflect her present-day experiences, with a deliberate focus on adult perspectives and the complexities of womanhood.

“My new EP is a little taste of the old stuff… it’s fresh, fexy,” she says, coining the term as a blend of fun and sexy. 

Next, Russo’s busy year continues as she prepares to hit the road this March and April, touring across the United States with stops in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.

“Being on the road is one of my favorite parts of being a musician,” she shares, expressing excitement about performing both her earlier catalog and new material. She is especially eager to sing “Bad Things” for the passionate Heated Rivalry fans who helped reignite the track’s popularity.

Looking ahead, Russo has her sights set even higher, naming Glastonbury and Coachella as dream stages. Festivals, she says, have been a lifelong goal and as she steps into this next era with new music on the horizon, fans are ready to follow wherever she goes.

Her advice to young artists looking to follow in her breakout footsteps is straightforward: “Put everything out and trust your gut. It’s youthful and creative. It’s so important to not overthink.”

The Foo Fighters are gearing up for… something. The veteran band appeared to tease their next era this week when their official website turned into a high school rocker’s bedroom festooned with rock posters that serve as interactive previews of new songs, amid piles of CDs and a clump of dirty clothes.

In a nod to old web 1.0 technology, fans can tool around on the landing page and discover the hidden clips by hovering or clicking on the wall full of images of the band in the studio and on stage. And while none of the song titles are currently available, last month lead singer/guitarist Dave Grohl confirmed a new LP is on the way during a one-off show at UTAS Stadium in Tasmania.

“We might have a whole new record of f–king songs that we just finished the other day,” Grohl told the audience in the first public confirmation about a follow-up to 2023’s But Here We Are. On their Instagram page, the band wrote “consider this an evaluation,” along with a shot of the bedroom.

From sounds of it, the group’s 12th studio album is a ripper. Going from left to right, one brief clip is mostly just Grohl screeching what sounds like “Decide, decide decide/ Do I, do I, do I,” over spare guitar before the drums kick in. Right next to that is a bouncy pop number whose wordless refrain is classic Foos, and just below is one in which Grohl repeats “turn the cameras on” over a rising beat. Underneath is a mid-tempo tune in which Grohl sings, “unconditional, it’s unconditional” over a driving beat, just above a poster that features the repeated phrase “Do you want more???,” perhaps hinting at the title of the album.

A picture of new drummer Ilan Rubin — with a picture of currently injured guitarist Pat Smear on the bass drum — unveils another driving rock tune, though none of the lyrics are included. Right next to that is a showcase for Rubin’s frenetic playing in the form of a furious pattern over slashing guitars. An image of a seated Smear in the studio previews a whipsawing rocker, while a snippet near the bottom of the page gives a sneak of one of the more sedate songs, with Grohl singing, “Lately I don’t hear a sound,” over a midtempo groove.

The mood cranks back up to furious chaos when you click on a pic of a smiling Grohl sitting in bed, his screaming bleeding out over a chorus of “na, na, na”‘s. Eagle-eyed fans might also notice a subtle tribute to late drummer Taylor Hawkins in the bottom right corner in the form of his signature hawk logo, which changes from black to bright colors surrounded by stars when you click on it; the beloved drummer died at age 50 in 2022 when the Foos were on tour in Colombia.

Earlier this week the band posted what sounded like a smash cut of new songs on Instagram, cryptically writing “of a broken broadcast system” and on Feb. 4 they shared another mega-mix of uptempo rockers with the message “this is just a test.”

At press time no additional information was available on the album’s title or release date.