Ella Langley Makes Surprise Appearance at Nashville Songwriters Awards To Perform “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas”

Ella Langley just made a Nashville crowd’s night. The singer made a surprise appearance at Ryman Auditorium during the Nashville Songwriter Awards, at which she was a big winner.

The exciting moment came as “Be Her” was being celebrated as one of the year’s 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written.

Songwriters Smith Ahnquist, Michael Hardy, and Jordan Schmidt were about midway through a performance of the when Langley walked onto the stage to join in. The crowd went wild over Langley’s arrival and kept up the energy for the rest of the performance.

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Before Langley came on stage, the writers discussed the writing process for “Be Her” in a pre-taped video. Hardy revealed that he thought of the title four minutes before arriving at the writing retreat, calling it “a straight up miracle.”

Langley loved the idea, and 30 minutes later the song was done.

“Ella just goes, ‘Ah, I needed this song. I needed this song for my record,’” Hardy said. “I get chills just thinking about it, because that’s the moment you live for as a songwriter.”

The Nashville Songwriter Awards Celebrates Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas”

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Langley didn’t end her time on stage then. At the end of the show, Langley, along with songwriters Luke Dick and JoyBeth Taylor, returned to the stage to celebrate “Choosin’ Texas,” the track that was named the Song of the Year.

Dick started the speeches, gushing that it’s “divine to get to sit in a room” each day with writers including Langley and Taylor.

When it was Taylor’s turn to speak, she kept it short and sweet.

“Jesus put singing in my heart and seven years old, so to win this is absolutely incredible,” she said.” I just want to say thank y’all so much.”

Langley dubbed Taylor’s speech to be “too short for what she’s worked for,” and proceeded to praise her collaborator and friend. She went on to discuss the making of the hit with their fellow songwriter, Miranda Lambert.

“It was such a moment for her and I. I think it really is a testament to believing in your people as an artist early on. You find your people that you write well with. Not only that you write well with, but that believe you in your story,” Langley said. “… Thank you so much for being there and writing this song with me.”

The trio proceeded to close the night out by performing “Choosin’ Texas” on the same day that it surpassed Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” as the longest running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images