For the Wind

"... growing out of the person you were into the person you are now. Growth is painful, growth is hard. It is beautiful and it can leave you feeling hungover."

(Monologue / Ella Langley, 1. November 2024)

Just 3 months after the release of her first full-length studio album "Hungover", Ella Langley released the deluxe version of it on November 1, 2024 under the clever new title "Still Hungover", with 4 new songs and a final monologue describing her personal development that inspired the album project.

At that time, the first single from the album ('You Look Like You Love Me') was still on its way up the radio (Billboard Country Airplay) chart, finally reaching number 1 on December 14, 2024. This marked the end of a spectacularly successful year for newcomer Ella Langley, the effects of which included a sold-out tour and the most nominations for the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards to be handed out on May 8, 2025. Her duet 'You Look Like You Love Me' (with Riley Green) got nominated four times and she also received nominations for New Female Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year.

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An extraordinary start to a career that now needs to be built upon. So she consulted none other than Miranda Lambert for advice, as  countrynow.com reported: "I sent Miranda the record, and she’s like 'Weren't For The Wind', out of all 18. And that was just a lot of people's favorite song."

Thus, the song, in which the longing for settling down falls victim to an ever-tempting curiosity and restlessness, was released as the official new single on January 2, 2025. It was originally written in 2023, when Ella Langely was touring with Jon Pardi and had a free weekend. "I don’t know if you’ve ever been through Wyoming, but it’s just, it’s all this beautiful land", she said. "There’s horses everywhere. So I feel like it’s just these westerny type vibes. I can’t even remember who brought in that title. The song just fell out that way."

[... if it weren't for the wind]

I wouldn't stay wonderin' what's out there,
I wouldn't saddle up on a breeze.
I wouldn't disappear out of thin air,
I could put down these wings.

Maybe I'd settle down, dig in some roots
Find me a farmhouse, find me you
Maybe I wouldn't be already gone again
(weren't for the wind / Ella Langley, Johnny Clawson, Joybeth Taylor) 

On March 25, 2025, the official video for the song premiered on the Paramount screen on Times Square in New York City. Shot in Nashville and directed by Wales Toney of Whale Tale and  Ella Langley, the film was turned into a short film that explores the conflict between relationship and career. On her Instagram page, Ella Langley quotes Lady Gaga: "Some women choose to follow men, and some choose to follow their dreams."

While the video tackles a challenging topic with honest emotions, the behind-the-scenes video released two days later catches one by surprise - and with plenty of humor. In fact, it has become a standalone short-film project, which, at almost 13 minutes, is about four times as long as the actual video, thus offering more than just an unvarnished look behind the scenes of the official video shoot.

With over 60 million streams on Spotify alone, 'Weren't For The Wind' has already reached number 19 on the radio (Billboard Country Airplay) chart of March 28, 2025, after only 13 weeks, thus making it Ella Langley's first solo top 20 hit . Apart from 'I'm The Problem' by Morgan Wallen, no other song is currently climbing the charts as quickly. So it's no wonder that even the currently most successful female artist in the genre (Lainey Wilson) sounds off with enthusiasm when  americansongwriter.com quotes her about Ella Langley: "We really are great friends and I'm so, so proud for her. I could not be more thrilled. She shows up, and she rolls her sleeves up, and she is ready to kick down barn doors."