Ella Langley Reclaims Hot 100 No. 1 as Three Big Debuts Shake Up Top Five

By Elena Vasquez

Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" returned to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, ending Taylor Swift's "Patient Zero" three-week run at the top and extending the country hit's record to 25 nonconsecutive weeks at the summit.

The chart date marks the 53rd week on the Hot 100 for "Choosin' Texas." The song logged 20 million on-demand streams and 58.6 million radio impressions. Langley broke the record previously held by Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in late September, when the song reached its 23rd week at No. 1. In plain terms: the takeaways this week are a returning champion and three major debuts.

Who debuted where?

Tate McRae's "Housewife" entered highest, at No. 2, with 22.9 million streams — more than Langley's chart-topper — plus 12.7 million radio impressions in its first week. The Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan remix of "Expectations" arrived at No. 3. Billboard counts all versions of a song as one; Rodrigo's solo rendition sat at No. 63 last week. The remix/duet combined for 18.2 million streams and 2.6 million airplay impressions.

Zach Bryan and Lana Del Rey's duet "Lies" premiered at No. 4 with 19.6 million streams — more than "Expectations" — though it drew little initial radio airplay. The song comes from Bryan's new eight-song EP, "Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. In short: three fresh tracks now occupy slots two through four.

What happened to Taylor Swift?

"Patient Zero" fell from No. 1 to No. 5. Radio airplay remains strong. Billboard reported physical sales dropped from 151,000 the previous week to 26,000 this week — a fall of roughly 83 percent — with no new variants or shipments of different versions reaching the market. Even so, the song was still the week's top seller.

How far did the rest of the top 10 slip?

Three new entries pushed most holdovers down three spots each:

• Stella Lefty's "Boston" — No. 6 (down three)
• Morgan Wallen's "Been by Now" — No. 7 (down three)
• Tame Impale and Jennie's "Dracula" — No. 8 (down three)
• Adela's "Nicole Kidman" — No. 9 (down three)
• Rodrigo's "Stupid Song" — No. 10 (down only two)

The modest two-spot drop for "Stupid Song" gives Rodrigo two songs in the top 10 simultaneously.

What does this mean going forward?

The "Expectations" remix also helped fuel Rodrigo's album "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as reported Sunday. For Langley, the extra weeks at No. 1 serve as insurance: Carey's Christmas perennial typically returns to the top in the weeks before Christmas, and Langley's cushion of additional weeks could protect her record heading into 2027.