Dandelion (album)

In April 2025, Ella Langley confirmed she was back in the studio, with a new album already in the works.^[6] Leading up to the 2025's Academy of Country Music Awards, she dealt with a harsh case of impostor syndrome.^[7] In August 2025, she canceled many shows to focus on her mental health.^[8] Langley would leave the public eye until September, "re-finding" herself.^[9][10] Choosing to prioritize quality over a quick follow-up, Langley pushed her second album's release to 2026 to ensure the new material was fully developed.^[11] It was described as a concept album.^[12] She believes this record represents her true self, describing the creative process as a seamless experience that captures her personality more deeply than ever before.^[13] In the album's trailer, she revealed the concept of the album title "Dandelions are masters of survival, thriving in even the harshest environments. Often dismissed as a common weed, this unassuming plant carries a deeper symbolism of hope, healing and resilience. This next record to me has so much growth in it".^[14][15] She further noted that, when she told her makeup artist about the title, he informed her that dandelion tea is known as a natural detox for the liver, with Langley noting, "when he said that, it was literally like one of those cartoon light bulbs went off over my head" due to how well it would thematically be her follow-up to her debut studio album, Hungover (2024).^[16]

Langley cited the music of Ronnie Milsap as a major influence on Dandelion due to his expansive sound, stating: "if you played Ronnie Millsap, for anyone who was just introduced to country yesterday, and they say, 'What genre is this?' They'd be like, 'Classic country'. And to me, artists like that have given me belief in myself to just explore and create and not put this box around everything where I'm feeling like I need to write this for this and do this and please this person and this person".^[17]

In anticipation for her second record, she put out the Hardy collaboration "Never Met Anyone Like You", a cover of Toby Keith's "Wish I Didn't Know Now", "This Version of Us" for the soundtrack of Nobody Wants This, and the Miranda Lambert-assisted "Choosin' Texas".^{[18][19][20][21]} The latter became a TikTok sensation and a historic chart-topper, making Langley the first female artist to simultaneously lead the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay charts.^[22][5]

On January 27, 2026, she officially announced her second album, Dandelion, set to be released on April 10, preceded by the promotional singles such as "Be Her" and the title track.^[1][23][24] Unreleased tracks like "Loving Life Again" and "I Gotta Quit"—both of them were performed during her live sets—she confirmed that the two will be part of the upcoming album.^[25][26] On February 2, she announced The Dandelion Tour playing arenas across North America.^[27][28] "Be Her" would be chosen as the second single for the album, being shipped to country radio on March 23, 2026.^[29] It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.^[30] The album's full tracklist was revealed on April 2, 2026.^[31]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[32]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[33]
Associated Press	[34]
The Independent	[35]
Rolling Stone	[36]
NME	[37]

Close

Dandelion received positive reviews from mainstream music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from professional publications, Dandelion received a average score of 86, based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[38] Marcy Donelson from AllMusic favors the album as "more ambitious outing with 19 tracks and an hour-long playing time, Dandelion offers a more hopeful state of mind, at least on average, with Langley planning to make some changes, like 'drinking less and thinking more'". She also praised the track "Be Her" as "warm, lightly disco-tinged" sound, followed by a "border on feel-good '70s soft rock are contrasted by rootsier ones" towards the track, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", while she called "Last Call for Us" as "dreamy". She concluded the review, calling Dandelion "functions as both a sequel and an appealing fresh start".^[33]

The album received sufficient critical acclaim, such as a perfect score from The Independent's Helen Brown who hailed it as a 'country classic'.^[35] Will Hermes from Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars, which he called Langley "one of those artists destined for the trenches that divide the indie Americana scene and the king-making world of country radio". He also noted the album is "a twangy neo-trad country set branded with a knowing taste for nostalgia, with a twentysomething's smart-ass plainspokenness and just enough commercial sheen, it shone brightest on deep cuts", concluding the review as a "coherent, fully-realized album, from an artist who feels fully-formed".^[36] Kayleigh Watson from NME stated, "no matter how far her career takes her from home, she is proud of and will never escape her roots. 'Bible in my blood and 'Bama in my veins', Langley says, while quipping how no amount of fame can make her switch Jack for champagne. Because, if we're being honest, her wildcard authenticity and fiery free spirit is the reason all eyes are on her now".^[37]

Dandelion became her first number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart, debuting with 169,000 equivalent album units in the US for the week ending April 24, 2026. This also became Langley's biggest debut week in terms of sales, and also recorded the highest first-week total consumption for a female country artist this year.^[3] It kept the top position in its second week, with 106,000 copies sold.^[39] In its third week, it placed at number two, but however improved slightly at 112,000 copies.^[40] As of June 2026, Dandelion has spent nine weeks on the Billboard 200 chart at the top five, being barred off the top spot from two albums such as Noah Kahan's The Great Divide and Drake's Iceman.^[41] Since its release, it has sold over 1,381,729 album equivalent units in the United States.^[42] It also opened at number one in Canada.^[43] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 22, 2026, denoting one million equivalent units in the United States.^[44] It was also certified gold in Canada within twelve days of its release.^[45]

Outside North America, Dandelion was a commercial success in international waters, where it opened at number one within the country charts in Australia and the United Kingdom.^[46][47] It also opened within the top five in Australia,^[48] New Zealand,^[49] and Scotland.^[50] It debuted within the top ten in the United Kingdom^[51] and Norway.^[52]

Credits are adapted from Tidal.^[53][54]