Ella Langley brought her song “Be Her” to the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Langley, in a white gown, chose to strip down the track, off her latest album Dandelion. Langley played acoustic guitar, with two acoustic players behind her, as she sang, “I just wanna be her so bad.”
Most would prefer to be Langley on Sunday night. The Alabama singer-songwriter won Female Artist of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, while her crossover smash “Choosin’ Texas” was named both Single and Song of the Year.
Langley discussed how “Be Her” came from a genuine desire to grow when stopping by the Katie and Company radio show earlier this year. “What it’s about, truly, is it’s not about being someone else, it’s about being the her you want to be,” Langley said. “I think there’s things that every single person on this planet would like to see themselves do better as a human being, you know what I mean?” She added, “I was just honest, those are all things that I’m looking forward to, in my life, changing about myself a little bit.”
Last month, Langley made her Stagecoach debut and delivered a performance that included “Bottom of Your Boots” and “Broken” off her new album Dandelion, chart-topping single “Choosin Texas,” and fan favorite “20-20” from the deluxe reissue Still Hungover — she even surprised the crowd by bringing out comedian Theo Von for a duet of “I Can’t Love You Anymore.”
Following the release of “Choosin’ Texas,” Langley made history when the single reached Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay charts at the same time. Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, and Shaboozey are the only other artists to ever achieve the feat; Langley is the first woman.
The singer-songwriter is up for seven awards at this year’s ACM Awards, scoring Single of the Year and Song of the Year nominations for “Choosin’ Texas.” Women dominated at the 61st AMAs, with Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and Langley each scoring more nominations than any male artist.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corp., the parent company of Rolling Stone.
