Introduction
Ella Langley Reacts to Her Old College Music Videos Going Viral: “I Worked My Tail Off To Get Here”
Before Ella Langley was topping charts with hits like “You Look Like You Love Me” and her latest single “Weren’t for the Wind,” she was just another college student with a guitar, a dream, and a camera.
Long before the stadium shows and award nominations, Ella was posting covers of country classics and a few original songs online — videos that have recently resurfaced on TikTok. Fans are fascinated by how far she’s come in just a few short years, and the clips, showing a much younger Ella experimenting with makeup trends and early songwriting, have gone viral all over again.
In a recent interview, Ella admitted she felt a little embarrassed seeing her younger self suddenly all over the internet — but she’s taking it in stride:
“Yep. I’m not upset by them. It’s just like, whoever went back in that far and decided to put me on blast like that — that only helps me, so thank you.”
The host, Elaina, called the videos “inspiring,” and Ella laughed, joking about her old makeup and teenage confidence. “I’ve really liked makeup the whole time,” she said. “I’ve tried every trend. I really have. I didn’t even know how to play guitar until I started to. I didn’t know how to sing until I started to.”
What shines through now, Ella says, is the work behind the scenes — the long hours, the self-teaching, and the resilience that built her career from the ground up.
“At first, when I saw those videos, I kinda started to sweat a little bit,” she admitted. “I was like, is everybody gonna think I’m not good now because I sounded like that back then?
Then I thought — wait a minute. Hell no. They’re gonna see that I worked my tail off to get where I’m at. And that’s inspiring — for whatever you do, not just music.”
Ella went on to say she hopes people see her story as proof that you have to start somewhere — whether you’re chasing a record deal, a radio job, or any dream that feels too far away.
Since those early clips, Ella’s career has skyrocketed. Her duet with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me,” became a viral sensation and climbed to #1, cementing her place among country music’s fastest-rising stars.
And while fans are rediscovering her early performances, Ella says she sees it all as part of the same story — a journey that began long before the spotlight found her.
“It’s funny looking back,” she smiled. “I didn’t know it then, but I was just getting ready for all of this.”
She sure was.