During the Billboard in Music event in Los Angeles, California, Lainey Wilson has paid homage to her good friend and the recipient of the 2026 Powerhouse Award, Ella Langley.

The star-studded ceremony, which took place at the Hollywood Palladium, recognised a host of women from across a multitude of genres, with chart-toppers such as Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, Teyana Taylor, Kehlani, Thalia, BINI, Laufey and more.

Ahead of the event, during which Wilson was presenting Langley with the Powerhouse gong, Wilson stopped by Billboard to share her admiration for the ‘Choosin’ Texas’ hitmaker.

Wilson, who won the Billboard Rulebreaker Award in 2023, gushed, “Oh my goodness. She is my dear friend, we've been friends for a few years now, and just to see what is happening with her, I mean, she is a powerhouse. There's no doubt about it. What is happening with her, I'm just so proud to be in the same genre as her. She is kicking down barn-doors, and I just couldn't be more proud of my friend”.

When asked about the emergence of so many stellar female artists in today's country scene, such as herself, Wilson emphasises, “I feel like we're just getting started, to be honest. I've been telling the boys for a long time, like ‘Y'all ain't seen nothing’, and that's exactly what's happening right now...These girls are making history. They are doing things that we didn't even know could happen, and I'm proud to be alongside them and hold hands and run across the finish line together”.

In an industry that often attempts to pit women against each other - as we've seen with coverage throughout 2025 of Langley and Megan Moroney - Wilson's comments on the importance of running ‘across the finish line together’ feels pertinent.

Women in country are finally getting the airplay and recognition they deserve, thanks in no small part to the way in which Wilson has opened the floodgates with her game-changing run. As a result, it feels apt that the Louisiana native was the one to crown Langley Billboard's 2026 Powerhouse during last night's illustrious ceremony.

In a separate interview with GMA before the event, Wilson echoed her previous warm remarks about Langley, again stressing the importance of women in the genre helping to elevate one another, rather than dragging each other down, “I feel like it is just so important for us girls to be holding hands and lifting each other up and supporting each other, so when I found out that Ella wanted me to be here to present her the Powerhouse Award, I was like, ‘I'll be there. I'll be there in a heartbeat’. I'm so proud of her, I feel like what she is doing and has done is unreal, and she is kicking down barn-doors, and it's just...I'm just proud of my friend”.

When asked what specifically makes Langley a powerhouse, Wilson responds, “Her grit. Her grind. She has this fire about her that you kind of have to have in this business, but she's got a little bit of that extra, that thing, you know what I'm saying? When she walks into a room, she's not just walking into it - she's kicking the door open”.

During Langley's acceptance speech, after joking about procrastinating and never getting round to writing anything down, the ‘you look like you love me’ singer-songwriter expressed her gratitude to Wilson, “Lainey, I love you so much. I'm so grateful you're here. Thank you for sitting at dinner at me. I love you so much”.

Langley went on, “Thank you Billboard for recognising country music in this way...Lord, it's just crazy to see what's happening. Thank you for having me here. I'm so grateful for the women on my team. My team is predominantly women. So I'm very grateful for women tonight, because I would not be standing here without them at all. Powerhouse, to me...is strength, resilience, it's coming back when you don't necessarily want to but you feel like, ‘I'm going to. I'm gonna fight for this. I'm gonna fight for this thing that I love to do’. This is something I've wanted to do for my whole entire life. There hasn't been another dream for me. There wasn't a day that I wanted to be anything else. So to get this award, after all those years of kicking down those doors...[it] didn't go to waste”.

It's hard to think of anyone more deserving of the 2026 Powerhouse accolade, given the way in which Langley is - as Wilson underlines - completely shifting the goalposts for women in country. At the time of writing, ‘Choosin’ Texas’ has spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, a remarkable feat that so many of the genre's leading figures have never been able to accomplish. With her new album, Dandelion, reigning the Billboard 200 for a second week, Langley is showing no signs of slowing down as she cements her status as a modern musical icon.

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