Ella Langley Says Beyoncé and Cody Johnson Nearly Recorded ‘Speaking Terms’ First: “I Just Wanted the Song to Win”

During the final show of her 2026 Dandelion Tour, Ella Langley has revealed that her heartfelt song, ‘Speaking Terms’, was almost recorded by Beyoncé and Cody Johnson.

Ultimately, of course, Langley ended up recording ‘Speaking Terms’ for her 2026 album, Dandelion, with the song perfectly tying together the soul-searching and the quest for a renewed relationship with God that underpins the record. Langley has spoken before about the prayers that inspired the choice to record that song.

But things could've been very different if Langley had not called up her good friend Joybeth Taylor - who co-wrote ‘Speaking Terms’ with Helene Cronin - to ask if she could have it.

The ‘Choosin’ Texas’ chart-topper recalls how she secured the song, “Multiple artists had this one on hold. Beyoncé had this song on hold for a second - believe it or not. Cody Johnson...and there’s a lot of people that this song didn’t land on”.

She goes on, “I just wanted the song to win, and I didn’t feel like at the time I was worth enough for it until I had that moment. And it was like, ‘Speaking Terms!’...I called her right then, and I said, ‘Hey, can I put that song on hold?’ She said, ‘Absolutely, yes.’”

It just goes to show how the right songs seem to find the right people, and now, it's difficult to imagine anybody else but Langley delivering this introspective, vulnerable offering.

When you first hear ‘Speaking Terms’, it's easy to assume Langley herself was a part of the writing process, especially given how it feels cut from the same thematic cloth as other songs on the album, such as ‘Butterfly Season’ and ‘Loving Life Again’.

We're very glad, as a result, that Langley was the one to record ‘Speaking Terms’. Even so, you can't help but wonder what Beyoncé or CoJo's version might have sounded like.

We imagine Johnson would've kept the arrangement pared-down and traditional, like Langley, but maybe with the addition of some steel guitar to give it a more Texan feel.

As for Beyoncé, nobody can doubt her ability to wrap her enchanting vocals around a sincere ode like this, and we suspect she might've upped the ante and transformed this into more of a power ballad. But of course, at the end of the day, we'll never know.

As far as we're concerned, ‘Speaking Terms’ is and always will be Langley's song, with the message of this track laying the foundation for the spiritually-minded message she has started imparting during her live shows about her faith journey.

Langley makes a point of discussing how crucial her relationship with God and Jesus has become, particularly while she struggled to contend with the blinding glare of the spotlight as she suddenly became one of the biggest stars in music. ‘Speaking Terms’, which finds Langley battling with the terrifying notion of her and God no longer communicating, is the dark before the dawn of ‘Butterfly Season’.

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