Chart Commentary — MARCH 21, 2026

THE RETURN OF “TEXAS”

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” rebounds a spot for a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song first led the chart in February and added its second frame on top two weeks ago.

Notably, “Choosin’ Texas” ties for the most weeks ever spent atop the Hot 100 for a song by a woman that also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, matching Taylor Swift’s three-week reign with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” her first Hot 100 leader, in 2012.

“Choosin’ Texas” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” stand above three other No. 1 country hits by women that led the Hot 100 for two weeks each: Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” in 2024, and Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream,” with Kenny Rogers (1983), and “9 to 5” (1981).

“Choosin’ Texas” concurrently tops Hot Country Songs for a 16th week.

LOVE “AMERICAN” STYLES

Harry Styles’ “American Girls” debuts at No. 4 and his former No. 1 “Aperture” surges 29-9. Both are from his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., which launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Styles imports the latest Hot 100 hit with a form of America in its title.  “American Girls” joins other such songs that have reached the top five. Here’s the full list:

• No. 1 (four weeks), “American Pie (Parts I & II),” Don McLean, beginning Jan. 15, 1972
• No. 1 (three weeks), “American Woman,” The Guess Who, May 9, 1970
• No. 1 (two weeks), “This Is America,” Childish Gambino, May 19, 2018
• No. 1 (one week), “We’re an American Band,” Grand Funk, Sept. 29, 1973
• No. 2, “Party in the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus, Aug. 29, 2009
• No. 2, “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” John Cougar Mellencamp, Apr. 5, 1986
• No. 2, “Theme From ‘Greatest American Hero’ (Believe It or Not),” Joey Scarbury, Aug. 15, 1981
• No. 2, “The All American Boy,” Bill Parsons, Feb. 2, 1959
• No. 4, “American Girls,” Harry Styles, March 21, 2026
• No. 4, “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America,” Gym Class Heroes feat. Patrick Stump, March 31, 2007
• No. 4, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” American Idol Finalists, May 3, 2003
• No. 4, “Living in America,” James Brown, March 1, 1986
• No. 4, “Americans,” Byron MacGregor, Feb. 9, 1974

(Absent from the list above, and as it may come to mind given Styles’ song title: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1976 classic “American Girl,” which, perhaps surprisingly, has never appeared on the Hot 100.)

Plus, the All-American Rejects, America, the American Breed, the five Americans, and Jay & the Americans have all flown their flags in the Hot 100’s top five.

Meanwhile, of the acts with top five Hot 100 hits that reference America in their titles, Styles is the third not from the U.S. The Redditch, Worcestershire, England, native follows The Guess Who and Byron MacGregor, each from Canada.

Jarrett Nolan

I was born a poor Black child into a family that put the “fun” in dysfunction. But through that fun, there was A LOT of music. At a very young age, my parents introduced me to everything ranging from Doo Wop to the British Invasion to Motown to Philly Soul to Psychedlic Rock to Funk.

Since I’m a Jersey boy born-n-bred, I landed a job at WHTZ (Z100) as a producer. I gave the DJs info about artists to read on-air – most of mine were chart-related, naturally.

I did double duty at WSBG, a small market radio station in the Poconos, as a DJ because I have a face for radio.

Through a random twist of fate, I wound up at BMG Distribution in Times Square. Shortly after, I ended up at Arista (shouldn’t have done that!). My career in the music industry ended with a stint at being a personal assistant to alterna-rap act PM Dawn.

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