Originally appeared on E! Online
Ella Langley is choosin’ inspiration from all over the place.
In fact, the “Choosin’ Texas” singer revealed that the hit song was actually inspired by one of fellow country singer Miranda Lambert’s experiences with her pet kangaroo.
“Miranda had a pet kangaroo, and she got pulled over with a kangaroo in her car,” Ella exclusively shared with E! News at Billboard’s Women in Music event in Los Angeles April 29. “And she had Texas plates in Ohio or somewhere.”
As the 26-year-old recalled of the story, the cop who’d pulled her over told Miranda that “of course” she had Texas plates, adding “‘She’s from Texas, I can tell.’”
That phrase stuck with Ella and ultimately led to the song off her second album Dandelion, which includes the lyrics, “She's from Texas, I can tell by the way / He's two-steppin' 'round the room."
With a laugh, Ella admitted to E!, it was “all because of a kangaroo.”
READ Kacey Musgraves Reveals How She and Miranda Lambert Overcame “Old Laundry”
And while inspiration can truly strike anywhere, Ella has found her secret sauce for making music that resonates.
“I started making music when no one was listening and I made it for me,” she explained. “I don't really wanna change that necessarily. It's been working. And I'm just gonna continue to do that—continue to make the music that I love and want to sing and I'm excited about.”
“The fans are loving it,” she exclaimed, “so I'm like, ‘All I got to do is make songs I enjoy?’”
And the “Be Her” singer, who received the Powerhouse Award at the Billboard event, was especially delighted by the recognition as it meant that audiences were responding positively to her authentic self.
“People are seeing my tenacity and my want to want to do this,” she shared with E!, “and my determination to stay here. My determination to stand up for myself and be my authentic version all the time.”
“To me, that's what powerhouse is,” Ella added. “Being your authentic self and not giving a s--t about what they all say.”
Ella isn’t the only star who has revealed all. Keep reading for more celebrity confessions.
—Reporting by Daryn Carp
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