Shania Twain says Ella Langley’s country breakthrough was no accident
Shania Twain praised Ella Langley’s Hot 100 run and said country music still leaves too little room for women to break through.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Shania Twain is cheering Ella Langley’s rise, but she says the Shania Twain Ella Langley story also points to a bigger country music problem: women are still fighting for space.
In an interview with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, Twain discussed Langley’s crossover moment as “Choosin’ Texas” reached its 14th week at Number One on the Hot 100, according to Rolling Stone.
Twain said she has not met Langley, but likes what she has seen from afar. She described Langley as authentic and said the singer does not appear to be trying to imitate anyone else or write with a forced agenda.
“The way she delivers a song, believe her. I believe what she’s saying,” Twain told Nashville Now.
What did Shania Twain say about Ella Langley?
Twain said Langley’s success did not appear overnight. Speaking to Nashville Now, she argued that if country music had offered more visibility and opportunity for women earlier, Langley may have broken through sooner.
“She’s not just great now; she didn’t just come out of nowhere,” Twain said, according to Rolling Stone.
That comment was not only praise for Langley. Twain used it to point at what she sees as a long-running gender imbalance in country music, where female artists can spend years doing the work before the wider industry gives them a serious opening.
Twain, 60, has her own history with that fight. Rolling Stone noted that she has not had a Top 10 country radio hit as a lead artist in 23 years, since “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face,” while some male artists in her age range have scored multiple Top 10 country singles since 2020.
Twain told Nashville Now that the issue goes beyond her own career. She said many women who have been working for years are only now getting broader attention because, in her view, there has not been enough room for them to be heard.
She said established artists such as herself have already had the chance to build and maintain a fan base. Her concern, she told the podcast, is for newer women trying to reach listeners in the first place.
Twain added that she is not asking the industry to hand success to anyone. She said women in country need “some space.”
What is Little Miss Twain?
Little Miss Twain is Twain’s new album, released Friday, according to Rolling Stone. The project looks back at her early years before she became one of country music’s biggest crossover stars.
Twain marked the album release Thursday night with a one-night performance at Racket in New York, Rolling Stone reported. The SiriusXM-presented event also tied into the launch of “Little Miss Twain Radio,” a pop-up SiriusXM channel centered on Twain’s music and the influences that shaped her.
The timing put Twain’s own origin story next to Langley’s current chart run. For Twain, Langley’s climb is proof of talent, and also a reminder that country’s next wave of women still needs room to be heard before the whole world catches up.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.