At this year’s Country Radio Seminar, Ella Langley gave fans a behind-the-scenes peek into how her hit song “You Look Like You Love Me” came to life—and it all started with a joke.
During the “Cycle of a Song” panel, Langley admitted she wasn’t exactly feeling inspired that day. “I’d already done one writing session earlier, and I was thinking, ‘Ugh, I don’t really want to go write another song,’” she said with a laugh.
But she powered through and met up with songwriter Aaron Ratiere. The vibe was casual, just two creatives chatting when Ratiere asked, “So how’s your love life?” Langley didn’t hold back: “I’m honestly at the point where if they look like they love me, I gotta get out of there.” That line cracked them both up—and sparked an idea.
From that offhand remark, the song practically wrote itself. “It was off to the races,” Langley said. “We wrote 10 to 15 verses just messing around. We hit record, played with different lines, and honestly thought it would be a bonfire song at best. I walked out thinking, ‘No one’s going to get this but me.’”
But fans more than got it.
At first, the track was meant to be a solo song, but that changed when Langley hit the road with Riley Green in early 2024. That’s when inspiration struck again. “I thought—what if Riley rewrote the second verse from his point of view? Like, what would he actually say if a girl walked up to him like that?” she explained.
Turns out, people did like it—a lot. With Green onboard, the duet version of “You Look Like You Love Me” became one of the biggest songs of 2024.
“It’s one of the most natural, real things that’s ever happened to me as a songwriter,” Langley said, clearly still a little surprised by its massive success.
Since then, Langley has been on a serious roll. She dropped her debut album hungover to glowing reviews and has been headlining shows across the country. Through it all, she’s stayed grounded, thanks in part to the guidance of some powerhouse women in country music.
“Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson—they’ve really had my back,” she shared. “They’ve helped me realize that everything I’m going through is normal. When I get the chance to share what I’ve learned with someone else, it’s wild to think, ‘Wait—you want to be like me? Are you sure?’”
