Parker McCollum On Post-Covid Performances and His Fiery Music Video
Parker McCollum just stepped behind the mic to co-host Backstage Country with Elaina Smith to talk about having a No. 1 hit during the pandemic and making a cool music…
Parker McCollum just stepped behind the mic to co-host Backstage Country with Elaina Smith to talk about having a No. 1 hit during the pandemic and making a cool music video. For the whole week, McCollum wasn’t afraid to get a little personal and shared tidbits about his life as a country music star with the listeners.
Playing 'Pretty Heart' Live for The First Time
McCollum shared that, not long after releasing “Pretty Heart,” COVID shut down the entire world. He admitted he was surprised that the first single from his debut album got so big, especially during a global pandemic. “I didn’t think it was a special song. It didn't stand out to me. And so, I was blown away once we released it, and it just went nuts. I mean, it was my first single on Universal Records, and to go to radio, and it just kind of exploded for us. I'll never forget it. That was just a wild year. It was so different, it was just uncharted territory for the whole world, and I had this crazy success story with this song the whole time that probably kept me alive during that time. So, I'm grateful for it.”
Smith asked how it was performing the song live for the first time.
The Texas-born musician recounted, “The first time I ever performed it live was, I think, in Cabo at Casey Donahue's Boots on the Beach. I did acoustic, and then afterwards, Casey goes, ‘What did that say about you? That says you're an a-hole.’ So, it was kind of funny. And I'll never do that. But yeah, I don't know, it's wild to see the life that song has had, and five years later, they still lose it every time we start playing it at a show. So that's every artist's dream.”
Making the Music Video for 'Burn It Down'
Smith shared her love for the “Burn It Down” music video (which, unsurprisingly, won ACM's Visual Media of the Year award in 2024), especially the pyrotechnic elements. McCollum chuckled, “It was wild. We shot this on a reservation in New Mexico, out in the middle of the desert. We started super early in the morning. I think we shot the whole thing in a day. We shot some of the last scenes after dark, and I mean, we were just cooking all day. We were in the middle of the desert with like two trailers and these big camera trucks and this crazy pyro guy who like had to run all the fire stuff, and he looked exactly like you'd think the pyro guy would look.”
Tune in and find out more about how Parker McCollum managed to survive the highly dangerous music video shoot. Backstage Country has never been this hot.
