Ella Langley on Miranda Lambert’s ‘Big Sister’ Support: “She’s Just So Honest”

Record breaking artist and country music royalty Miranda Lambert has been quietly sharing her knowledge and expertise to help support and raise her industry sisters like Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson. Both Langley and Wilson are following in Lambert’s footsteps with record-breaking hits and legacies that will last generations.

Langley recently spoke to Theo Von on his This Past Weekend podcast about her friendship with Lambert, and how she supported her through the production of her latest record, Dandelion. Lambert offered reassurance and instilled tenacity in Ella, allowing her to feel confident in asking for what she wanted on her record. “That’s what was so cool about having Miranda to be a part of it,” Ella said, “she’s just so honest, you know…some days I’d be like, ‘Can I say that?’ and she’d be like, ‘Hell yeah you can say that, you can say whatever the hell you want to’.”

As well as appearing on ‘Butterfly Season’ and co-producing the album, Lambert co-wrote ‘Choosin’ Texas’, now on its sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The hit has also held the coveted No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs ranking for 20 weeks, making it the third-longest chart-topper among female-led country songs. Langley’s delivery of the song is heavily attributed to the song’s success, but there’s no denying that Lambert’s involvement has elevated the writing and production to ensure the track became the hit it was destined to be.

But why Lambert? What’s she done that makes her able to add so much value to anyone’s career? Well, let’s get into it.

To start, she holds the record for the most consecutive ACM Female Vocalist of the Year wins. Not to mention being the first woman to win CMA Album Of The Year twice, she has also received the most CMA nominations and the most ACM awards ever.

She’s an ACM Triple Crown winner, has five No. 1 solo hits and her iconic songs, ‘The House That Built Me’ and ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ are both three-times Platinum.

So, yeah, she kind of knows what she’s talking about.

With a hard-earned wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to pass on and share with other leading females in the industry, Lambert has become the ‘big-sister’ that Langley and Wilson - and no doubt many others - are turning to for advice.

There’s a book called ‘Lift As You Climb’ by Viv Groskop which has absolutely nothing to do with country music but everything to do with women supporting women in the workplace.

Lambert epitomises this and uses her lived experiences to help mould her friends’ dreams into careers. She’s not climbing to the top and stepping on any head she comes across, she’s not gatekeeping contacts and she’s absolutely not living the ‘it’s lonely at the top’ cliche. She has climbed, oh that woman has clambered relentlessly, and she’s done it to pave the way for other women and use her power for good.

Lambert and Wilson have both spoken openly about their friendship, after Lambert sent Wilson a ‘Happy Birthday’ text and asked if she wanted to hang out and write some songs. (Umm, yes please.) Wilson, now heavily considered as one of modern country music’s powerhouses, describes her friend as having a ‘spitfire spirit’. The pair share a heartwarming story in which Lambert encouraged Wilson to come and stay at her ranch as Lambert feared Wilson was approaching burnout. Wilson slept, the duo wrote and it was here that ‘Good Horses’ was born.

Much like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert is so much more than the artist on stage. She’s smashed ceilings for women in the industry, written for Morgan Wallen, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton and more and is a dab hand at production, too.

Now, we see Langley and Wilson passing on the baton even further, lifting as they themselves climb. Artists like Tanner Adell have credited Wilson with being a mentor as they surf their career ascension, while Langley regularly and vocally champions friends and up-and-comers like Emily Ann Roberts and Kaitlin Butts.

Media outlets have long pursued the easy, click-bait narrative that pits women against each other, especially in The Arts. (How can we forget the Langley/Moroney scandal from 2025). It’s a tired approach to the careers of hugely successful women in music - and, as today's hitmakers are highlighting, a far cry from the truth.

For more on Ella Langley, see below: