You’ve Never Heard Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” Quite Like This Ella Langley Version

Was not on my 2026 bingo card.

In a year filled with massive breakouts from the likes of Zach Top, Treaty Oak Revival, The Red Clay Strays, Megan Moroney and more, it’s still hard to top Ella Langley’s huge 2025. In addition to continuing her momentum built off the success of “you look like you love me” with Riley Green, the Alabama native would go on to win not one but three separate CMA Awards back in November for Single, Song and Music Video of the Year, all for the aforementioned hit song.

Not to be outdone, last month, she finally scored her first-ever #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for her red-hot single co-written with Miranda Lambert, “Choosin’ Texas,” which rose from #4 to #1 on the chart. Additionally, the song is predicted to become her first-ever Top 5 entry on the all-genre Billboard 100 next week as well.

With all that being said, it’s safe to say that 2026 is looking to be a huge year for the Alabama native. With all the momentum in the world on her side, a new album rumored to be released at some point in the year and massive opening spots on both Eric Church and Morgan Wallen’s tours, it truly feels like the sky is the limit for her heading into the new year.

Instead of kicking off her year with a teaser for a new song or even an album announcement, Langley decided to take to TikTok yesterday to upload an acoustic cover of none other than Rick Astley’s 1987 smash hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

@ellalangleymusic1Been stuck in my head all day♬ original sound – Ella Langley

It’s hard to imagine that anyone on the internet today is not at least somewhat familiar with the song at this point. Upon its release in 1987, “Never Gonna Give You Up” was nothing short of an international success. Beyond going #1 in nearly 20 different countries, including the likes of the U.S., U.K., Italy and even Zimbabwe throughout the course of its existence, the track has arguably become the most recognizable internet meme in existence.

Of course, this is thanks to the ever-popular “rickrolling” trend that originated online around 2007. In case you’re somehow now familiar with the meme, the basic concept of it revolves around a bait-and-switch by posting a video that’s either titled something completely different (or back in the day, having a completely different URL). Upon clicking a link that otherwise looked like something completely unrelated to the song, “Never Gonna Give You Up’s” chorus would play instead, thus “rickrolling” someone.

It’s one of those internet trends/memes that have amazingly never truly died and remains in the public consciousness til this day. Though it’s not nearly as prevalent online today as it was back in the day, you’ll still see it every now and again, especially on April Fool’s Day. Thanks to the prominence of the meme over the past 19 or so years, the official music video for the song has gained a staggering 1.7 BILLION views.

Clearly aware of the legacy of the song online, many fans took to Langley’s comment section to make jokes about the cover, claiming they got “Rick-rolled” by the “weren’t for the wind” singer.

“Rick rolled in the big ’26”

“Did I just get Rick-rolled by Ella Langley?”

“The best Rick roll I could ask for”

“Why are you rick rolling us?“

“Getting Rick-rolled by Ella Langley wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card”

“I’ve never wanted to be Rick rolled so bad in my life”

“A cover I didn’t know I needed”

“Wow this is amazing”

As for Langley’s cover itself, it’s a damn good one. In all my years on the internet, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard an acoustic rendition of the song, but she set the bar extremely high here. As time passes, it’s becoming clear that Langley can essentially sing anything, even the phonebook, and it will still sound pretty incredible.

While you’re here, fire up Astley’s iconic song for ‘ol time’s sake.

The post You’ve Never Heard Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” Quite Like This Ella Langley Version first appeared on Whiskey Riff.