Ella Langley’s recent success is enough to leave anyone breathless. Just this week, she celebrated landing two solo No. 1 hits, “Choosin’ Texas” and “Weren’t for the Wind”, as she gears up to release her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Dandelion.
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However, mental health is its own beast, and sometimes all the success in the world can’t silence the dark thoughts in your mind. During a recent show in Chattanooga, the five-time Academy of Country Music Award winner, 26, opened up about her inner struggles and how she transformed them into a brand-new song.
Ella Langley Didn’t Recognize Herself in the Mirror
Following the viral Riley Green collaborations “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do”—along with the buzz surrounding her freshman album Hungover—Ella Langley suddenly found herself with everything she’d ever wanted. And yet, this newfound fame didn’t erase the country star’s lifelong battle with her mental health.
“I don’t know why… I was always born with this little dark cloud that likes to follow me around some days. And some days it gets a little heavier than others, you know?” she said.
Touring kept Langley from her family, and celebrating her triumphs without them felt intensely painful. “I got to a point last year where I looked at myself in the mirror and I didn’t recognize the person that I saw. The people around me didn’t recognize the person that they saw,” she said. “And I decided that this thing wasn’t more important than me, this thing that I’m doing.”
With that revelation, Langley stepped back from touring—the first time since she began performing at 18—and headed home.
[RELATED: Miranda Lambert Reveals the “Test” Ella Langley Gave Her Amid ‘Dandelion’ Production]
She Relied On This Fellow Songwriter
Spending two weeks with her parents, Ella Langley emerged from that break “a lot more confident,” she said. It also helped having the support of a good friend—fellow singer-songwriter Ernest.
“[When] I came back from those two weeks, we were sitting at my front porch, and he looked at me and said, ‘How you doing?’” Langley recalled. “I said, ‘Well, looks like I’m back to loving life again.’”
“And us being songwriters, I mean, we sat there and immediately wrote it,” she continued.
“Loving Life Again drops Friday (March 19)—the final single before Dandelion is released April 10. It follows “Choosin’ Texas,” “Be Her,” and the title track.
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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