Country music star Ella Langley is drawing attention again — this time for an emotional onstage moment in which she credited God for her remarkable rise in the industry.
The 27-year-old singer paused her Sept. 10 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to reflect on the biggest year of her career, telling the packed arena that her faith remained at the center of everything happening around her.
The moment came just hours after the Country Music Association announced that Langley had received nine nominations for the 60th annual CMA Awards, more than any other artist this year.
The “Choosin’ Texas” singer told the crowd that she had watched the nominations announcement earlier that morning and still found herself overwhelmed by the recognition.
“God has been so good to me, has been just so, so good to me. I’m just a poor girl from a small town with a big dream. Pretty cliche, I know, but it’s true. I’ve done countless things. Ridiculous, dumb things in my life. I don’t feel like I always deserve it, but I am so grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to stand up here and sing songs that I love,” Langley told the crowd.
Langley described herself as a small-town girl who grew up with an enormous dream and said she remains grateful that songs with deep personal meaning have connected with so many people.
Rather than simply celebrating the awards attention, the “Dandelion” songbird used the moment to thank fans for listening to her music and supporting her career.
The Newark stop was part of Langley’s sold-out Dandelion Tour, which has taken her into arenas across the country following a string of major commercial successes. The Prudential Center confirmed that Langley headlined the venue Sept. 10 with ERNEST and Gabriella Rose among the supporting performers.
Her nine CMA nominations include her first nod for Entertainer of the Year, one of country music’s most prestigious honors.
WATCH:
@sabrinafromqueens & she deserves every bit of it @Ella Langley #ellalangley #cmaawards ? original sound – Sabrina from Queens
She is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for *Dandelion*.
Two of her biggest songs, “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas,” each received nominations for both Single of the Year and Song of the Year.
“Choosin’ Texas” also earned a Music Video of the Year nomination, while her collaboration with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” was nominated for Musical Event of the Year.
The nine nominations put Langley in rare company.
She tied the mark for the most CMA nominations received by a female artist in a single year, a total previously reached by Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson. Only Alan Jackson, who received 10 nominations in 2002, has earned more in a single CMA Awards cycle.
Langley’s rise has been fueled in part by the extraordinary success of *Dandelion*.
The album has produced several major hits, including “Choosin’ Texas,” which became the first song by a woman to simultaneously top the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, according to the Prudential Center.
“Be Her” also became one of the fastest solo female singles to reach No. 1 on country radio in the past decade.
Her CMA breakthrough follows another dominant awards performance earlier this year.
Langley swept all seven categories in which she was nominated at the Academy of Country Music Awards, further cementing her status as one of the genre’s fastest-rising stars.
The Newark remarks were not the first time Langley has publicly discussed her Christian faith during a concert.
Earlier this year, video circulated of Langley telling another audience that her relationship with God had changed the way she viewed herself and treated herself.
She told fans that faith had become a central source of stability in her life and encouraged audience members to recognize their own worth.
That willingness to openly discuss faith has become part of Langley’s public persona as her profile has grown.
Her latest remarks arrived at an especially significant moment, coming on the same day she learned she had become the most-nominated artist at this year’s CMA Awards.
The ceremony will take place Nov. 18 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and will air live on ABC and Disney+.
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