Parker McCollum’s ‘Crazy’ Hometown Video Shoot

When Parker McCollum went home to Conroe, Texas to film his "Handle On You" video, he was excited to be among his hometown crowd, but he admits it was a challenge filming the video there.

He told us, "I will never do that again. I will never film a music video in my hometown show with twenty thousand people even again. That was a crazy, crazy long day, but it turned out so good, and I got to rip my Corvette for an hour and a half just outside the road on my ranch in East Texas. It was beautiful out there. I've done like three videos out there, any excuse to go to the ranch and an excuse to drive one of my cars."

Parker added, "Music videos are kind of a brutal process, they are kind of boring, and they are long days, so if you can throw in just ripping your Corvette around for an hour or two, it makes it pretty fun."

McCollum said that the video was not what many wanted him to do. He said, "I thought the video spoke well to the song. Everyone who wanted to pitch treatment for 'Handle on You' wanted to do it in a bar and do the same ole thing, and I said, 'Man, that's not my life in a bar anymore. My life is complete chaos, one hundred miles an hour and then absolute dead silence. And it's back and forth from one extreme to the other at all times.' And I thought we did a good job in the video showing that."

Parker told us not long ago that "Handle On You" was written during a tough time with his then-girlfriend, Hallie Ray.

McCollum said," 'Handle On You' is a song I wrote with my buddy Monty Criswell before Hallie and I were back together, and I was really going through it, and I was drinking quite a bit and staying up all night trying to write sad country songs. I wasn't really writing anything at the time and woke up real late one day, and Monty came over, and he had this title called 'Handle On You,' and I said, 'Man, I've kind of been trying to get a handle on her,' and I was really kind of living that at the time."

He added, "It's a super honest song, and it really means a lot to me when I listen to it and think back on that time on what I was going through. You know, I was drinking to try to get out of a bad spot which will never work, but I don't regret it because we wrote 'Handle On You' from literally living exactly what that song's about."

Parker McCollum released a new song today (3/10) from his forthcoming studio album, Never Enough. The new song is called "Speed."

Parker said of the song in a statement, "My song 'Speed' is about my obsession with living fast. Life is always going a hundred miles an hour, and it's important to try and be aware of that and slow things down every now and then."

He adds, "As you get a little further along in life, you start to enjoy the slow and easy life. It takes a little reflection and a little step back from everything to realize how important it is."

Never Enough will be released everywhere on May 12, 2023, and will also feature the lead single "Handle On You," as well as recent releases "Stoned" and "I Ain't Going Nowhere." Fans can pre-order Never Enough on CD and vinyl, with a special signed white vinyl and signed CD exclusively available at ParkerMcCollum.com.

Earlier this week, McCollum participated in the Country Music Hall of Fame's American Currents: State of Music exhibition. The exhibit highlighted the country music landscape over the past year. The exhibit explores musical developments, artist achievements, and notable events determined by the Museum's curators and editorial staff.

Featured artists of the exhibit include McCollum, Wynonna Judd, Elvis Presley, Luke Combs, HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Jordan Davis, and more. It is open to the public now through February 2024.

As his country music career continues to rise, we look at his last few years in country music.