Ella Langley Embraces Growth And Confidence On New Album ‘Dandelion’

After months of anticipation, Ella Langley has unveiled Dandelion, her highly anticipated sophomore album. The Alabama native executive produced the project alongside Miranda Lambert and Ben West, introducing a new side of her artistry through the 18-track release.

This new chapter showcases a lighter, freer, more mature and confident version of Langley, and is without a doubt poised to take her already skyrocketing career to the next level.

During a recent Dandelion pop-up in Nashville celebrating the album, Langley opened up about the project and what inspired it, telling fans, “This record is flirty. It’s fun. I knew it was going to be coming out spring, early summer. So I really wanted something like you’re on a boat, you’re in a car, driving somewhere beautiful, you’re on a beach.”

She went on to compare it to her debut album, hungover, explaining how the songs represent where she is in her life.

“I think the big difference between hungover and Dandelion, and if you haven’t heard what the connection on this record is, hungover, obviously we know what that’s about, right? We understand at this point. And that really was, I feel like my life from 18 to 25, really the whole thing, the whole dang thing,” she laughed. “And I had written the song ‘Dandelion’ and I kind of knew where I wanted it to go conceptually for the next record. And my makeup artist, Chris Bear, we were shooting the music video for ‘You Look Like You Love Me’ and I told him, I said, ‘This is the song that I think I want to be the title track the next record.’ And he said, ‘Well, did you know that Dandelion tea can be a natural detox for your liver?’ And I was like, ‘What?’”

In that moment, everything made sense, therefore, Dandelion became the follow-up to hungover. 

Dandelion is a natural next phase after ‘hungover’,” Langley later shared in a statement. “hungover is what brought people to the table, and Dandelion is what makes them sit down and eat. This album explains who I am as an artist and as a person. It reflects on what made me this way while giving a glimpse of what’s next. It’s my favorite project I’ve ever done, it’s the most ‘me’ I’ve ever put out.”

Now 26 years old and with more experience and life under her belt, Ella Langley is leaning into a new chapter that reflects exactly where she is in life.

“I’m in the back half of my 20s. I’m still figuring it out, but I feel like I do it with a little more confidence. Now I’m kind of falling into my womanhood in a way. I feel like an adult more than I did in my early 20s, definitely. And so that’s why a lot of these songs represent that,” she explained. “They represent that feeling of you’re still figuring it out, but you’re trying to do it a little bit better each time.” 

One song that especially captures that journey, where she’s been and where she’s going, is the tender and nostalgic “Loving Life Again,” which was born out of a season that forced her to step back and reset.

“We put out the last single for this record a couple of weeks ago, and the love for this song has blown me away. I love this song so much. It’s one of my favorites … I took a break last year from this whole journey. I kind of explained it like a nonstop hamster wheel. You know what I mean? If you want to be on this thing, you got to be going at whatever speed it’s on. And I had to take a step off of it for a second,” she shared. “And when I came back from that break, I just kind of remembered what the point of everything was. I think that’s why it got so tough. I’m like, “Why? Why am I doing it? Why am I working so hard?” And then I took that time and I felt that again. I felt the love and I felt the feeling that I felt when I was a little kid and I just wanted to do this because it’s something I wanted to do because I love it.” 

After that period of her life, she was in a writing session with ERNEST when the song just naturally came together.

“This song kind of made sense of my life for me. I don’t know how to explain that…And so this one is so important because it brings up my past. It brings up where I’m coming from, but it also is so excited for the future and that’s how I genuinely feel about this record and this career.” 

Dandelion arrives just one day after Ella Langley was named among the most-nominated artists for the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards, where she earned seven nominations.

Langley is heading into her busiest season yet, with support dates on Morgan Wallen’s Still the Problem Tour, multiple festival appearances, and her biggest tour to date: her first headlining arena run on the Dandelion Tour.With Dandelion, Ella Langley makes it clear she’s not going anywhere. She’s building a career with real staying power, and this record is just further proof she’s in it for the long haul.