Ella Langley has never been shy about saying she always knew, deep down, that pursuing music was what she was meant to do.
Thankfully, that unwavering faith helped propel Langley to the global country stardom we know today. It also didn’t hurt that Langley’s self-confidence was backed by her family, friends, and even teachers rooting for her along the way.
The 27-year-old Hope Hull, Alabama native first took a keen interest in singing, putting on performances for her grandparents in their kitchen of tracks like “Froggy Went A Courtin'” and building confidence on stage at her local church. As for her guitar skills? I think we can give a little thanks to her Hooper Academy history teacher, who would spend his mornings before the class bell rang practicing guitar with the future “Choosin’ Texas” legend.
WSFA12 News in Montgomery caught up with Maury Popwell following Langley’s cataclysmic chart-breaking record, with her earworm summer anthem spending its 16th week at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, officially becoming the longest-running solo-female single (not including Holiday tracks). Popwell, aka “Coach Pop,” has a pretty legendary career of his own, teaching for 57 years so far, with 22 of them spent at Langley’s K-12 school.
Their joint love for horses and music turned into a Friday morning tradition where the blossoming singer would bring her guitar in, and Coach Pop would play alongside her on his 12-string guitar. WSFA12 shares, “He says Langley fell in love with its distinct sound and that sound stayed with her.”
Down the road, two years into her college career at Auburn University, Langley decided to drop out and move to Nashville instead to pursue her music dreams in 2019. After sharing this life-changing news with Coach Pop, he told her to stop by just one more time at her former school.
He explained, “When I found out she was going to Nashville, I called her right before school started, and I told her come by the school today and she did. I gave her that guitar. So she took it with her.” In return, the two have stayed friends over the years, even bringing her former teacher on stage during her show in Birmingham, as seen in WSFA’s News package.
Oh, and of course, he’s got his very own Ella Fellas shirt, fittingly, as he proclaimed himself as one of the founding members: “I was the original Ella Fella.” Holding back tears, Popwell described his front-row seat to Langley’s continued amassing of success, sharing, “It affects me like she is my grandchild.”
He admits that he’ll always remember the “small, small part” he played in her career, noting that he can’t help but get a little sentimental watching her accept things like her record-breaking seven awards at this year’s ACMs. “I’ve caught myself with a tear in my eye watching her go up and receive these awards. It’s like she’s part of my family. And she is.”
I have a feeling Coach Pop will have a lot more to be proud of as Langley continues to stun with her hit album Dandelion, its coinciding 2026 headlining tour, and as her upcoming second duet with Koe Wetzel, “Jaded,” inevitably breaks the internet this Friday, August 7. Hopefully he’ll also get to witness her dominate two back-to-back nights at Neville Arena in Auburn later this month on the 28th and 29th.
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Tour Dates:
- 7/31 – Canandaigua, NY CMAC (@, %)
- 8/13 – Austin, TX Moody Center (#, &)
- 8/14 – Corpus Christi, TX Hilliard Center (#, &)
- 8/15 – Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena (#, &)
- 8/20/26 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center (#, %)
- 8/22/26 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena (#, %)
- 8/28/26 – Auburn, AL – Neville Arena (#, &)
- 8/29/26 – Auburn, AL – Neville Arena (#, &)
- 9/10/26 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center (#, &)
- 9/11/26 – State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center (#, &)
- 9/12/26 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum (#, &)
- 9/17/26 – Oxford, MS – SJB Pavilion (@, %)
- 9/18/26 – Athens, GA – Akins Ford Arena (@, %)
- 9/19/26 – Jacksonville, FL – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena (@, %)
- 9/24/26 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center (@, %)
- 9/25/26 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center (@, %)
- 9/26/26 – Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena (@, %)
- 10/7/26 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre (@, &)
- 10/9/26- Tulsa, OK – BOK Center (@, %)
- 10/10/26 – Lubbock, TX – United Supermarkets Arena (@, %)
- 10/13/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre (@, %)
- 10/14/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre (@, %)
- 10/29/26 – Des Moines, IA – Casey’s Center (@, &)
- 10/30/26 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena (@, &)
- 10/31/26 – Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena (@, &)