All The Stars Are Aligning For Ella Langley

One performance in, and Ella Langley is already a Stagecoach icon. On April 24, the 26-year-old made her debut at the country music festival, taking over the main stage just in time for sunset — complete with an airy custom look and a surprise appearance from Theo Von during “You Look Like You Love Me.”

She arrived at her Stagecoach debut mid-history-making run. Langley released “Choosin’ Texas” in October as the lead single from her sophomore album, Dandelion, and since hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February, the track has logged seven nonconsecutive weeks at the top. The full album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it dropped April 10.

As for Stagecoach, Langley says “all the stars aligned” for her performance, down to her golden-hour set time. “It's such a bucket-list festival for so many people,” she tells Elite Daily by phone, hours before taking the stage. “Everything that’s happening is so crazy. I’ve played a lot of festivals in my life, but this is my first festival since ‘Choosin’ Texas,’ so I’m excited to see what the crowd is like today.” (As someone in the crowd, I can confirm: Fans could not get enough.)

The hits aren't the only thing working overtime — so is her signature look. Whether she's onstage or hitting up the American Eagle Jeans Country pop-up as a brand partner, Langley leans into her Alabama roots, borrowing vintage pieces from a family friend and building everything around her go-to staple: denim.

Here, Langley discusses her festival season must-haves, her star-studded “Choosin’ Texas” music video, and what she’s manifesting next.

Elite Daily: Your “Choosin’ Texas” music video was full of Stagecoach style inspo. What are your pillars of festival dressing?

Ella Langley: I’m actually wearing my favorite American Eagle Stagecoach piece right now. It’s this little jean corset top, and then I’m wearing a skort, which I’m a fan of. I am a shorts-under-the-dress girl. I always have been.

In general, I want to look cute, but I also want to be able to wear my outfit without being miserable all day. I’m all about finding a good medium between cute and functional. For me, it’s usually some denim and a cute top. Good shoes are a necessity. The heels that I perform in would be awful festival shoes. If I was just attending, I would wear some sort of boot — combat or cowboy.

ED: Do you have any must-have accessories?

EL: Jewelry. I always have a lot of rings on, and I wear them on the same fingers. I’m pretty superstitious about it.

ED: Your turquoise rings in the “Choosin’ Texas” video are amazing.

EL: Those are really special. One is actually a piece of my hometown. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the little back room of my grandparents’ house, singing all day. In the country, people just come over — no one rings a doorbell — and my grandparents’ mail lady was one of them. She saw me singing at a young age and believed in me.

A couple of years ago, she felt inclined to give me some turquoise. She’s been loaning it to me ever since. I keep trying to give it back to her, but I think she just loves to see it out there.

ED: Who is your ultimate style inspo?

EL: Stevie Nicks is up there for me. I’ve always appreciated how her clothes move on stage.

There’s one other [Easter egg] that I can’t tell you yet. You might have to rewatch the video to see.

ED: Let’s talk more about that music video — there were so many familiar faces! How did that all come together?

EL: My dream cast was Luke [Grimes] and Ava [Phillippe]. Did I think we would actually get them? No, but I also kind of did at the same time. I just learned about the feminine archetypes [a system that outlines different ways to embody feminine energy], and I’m a mystic. The mystic is a constant dreamer and someone that believes that their dreams can actually come true. For me, there’s always that hope that it’s going to work out exactly how I want it to.

I knew that I wanted to support Texas country music by having a lot of those cameos in there. Texas has always been really kind to me, so it was important for me to include these artists that have supported me over the years. The first artist I opened for, Mike Ryan, is in the video.

ED: At the end, the license plate reads, “ICLYA,” aka “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” to tease your new collab with Morgan Wallen. Did you drop any other Easter eggs in the video that fans missed?

EL: There are a few. They’re at the end — right after the license plate, there’s “Last Call for Us,” which is a song off the new record. And then there’s one other one that I can’t tell you yet. You might have to rewatch the video to see.

ED: How did the collab with Wallen happen?

EL: This is my third tour with Morgan. I didn’t go out and sing with him the first year, but last year, I started going out and performing “What I Want” [his collab with Tate McRae] with him. I feel like I butchered it almost every single time. I kept telling him, “Please don’t make me do this song again. I’m going to mess it up.” He just kept making me. This year, we were talking about possibilities of what we would sing, and we knew we wanted to make a song together.

I wrote “I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Austin Goodloe and Joybeth Taylor, and I sent it to Morgan, and he loved it. We finished it up, honestly, a couple of weeks ago. It was a last-minute addition to Dandelion, and I’m just so excited that we get to play the song on tour. [Langley will be joining Wallen’s Still the Problem Tour for select dates.]

ED: What’s coming up next for you?

EL: Well, I did just drop 18 songs, so I might let that live for a second — even though I know I dropped another one directly afterwards. I do like to keep people guessing. This year’s a big year, and we have this headline tour coming up. I’m excited to play this record live.

ED: What are you manifesting right now?

EL: I think everything works out the way it’s supposed to. Right now I’m manifesting peace and keeping my head on my shoulders. I want to cherish the little things because this is moving so fast, and I want to remember all of it.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.