Exclusive: Parker McCollum Says He Doesn't Think He's “Good Enough” to Collaborate with Zach Bryan

Parker McCollum is one of the biggest artists in today's country landscape: the ‘Pretty Heart’ crooner is now in the middle of his sprawling 2024 headlining tour, he accumulated almost 300 million Spotify streams in 2023 and is currently preparing to add another No. 1 to his collection for his simmering single, ‘Burn It Down’.

However, in a new interview with Holler, Parker humbly touched on his feelings of artistic inferiority when it comes to Zach Bryan, after a fan on X called for the two to collaborate.

When asked about the chances of a link-up, the Texan shared, “Zach is an unbelievably massive superstar now, and to be totally completely honest, I just don't think I'm good enough to be on that level or to have the kind of success that he's had”.

The ‘Handle On You’ singer-songwriter qualified this by expressing his gratitude for all the things he has accomplished so far, “I think it's incredible the success that I have had, especially looking at where I came from - I was the least promising prospect when I was 19 years old. So the fact I've even gotten to the small level that I'm on now - and it feels like a massive level, honestly, given I'm now selling out arenas - it's just way more than I ever could have imagined”.

Zach Bryan, who recently took home the 2024 Grammy for Best Duo / Group Performance for his Kacey Musgraves duet, ‘I Remember Everything’, has enjoyed an explosion in popularity of the past few years. Yet many would argue Parker holds his own in the genre's upper echelon alongside the ‘Something in the Orange’ songsmith.

Thankfully, despite his modesty, Parker McCollum underlined that, if they wrote a track that really resonated, he would be open to working on a duet, “Obviously I would do a song [with Zach] as long as it was the right song. I wouldn't ever want to force anything or put out something that isn't authentic or genuine to both of us”.

He went on to expand on his reply to the fan that asked Parker and Zach to collaborate, in which he wrote, ‘There are levels to this stuff ma’am’, explaining, “Man, he's so big-time right now. I don't even know if I would ever even be able to cross his radar. To be totally honest, in my mind, I just don't know if I'm talented enough to operate in this business on that level. I don't say that for pity or sympathy or anything like that. It's just me being 100% honest. I like to think that I am and I work very, very hard to hopefully be that way one day, but that's all I meant by that post. There are levels to it. He's on a level that's untouchable”.

While we're sure Zach Bryan will appreciate Parker McCollum's kind words, and although it certainly does seem hard at the moment for artists to compete with Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen when it comes to streaming figures, we still think Zach and Parker could create an electric collaboration if they did decide to link up in the studio.

Parker's earlier material, such as The Limestone Kid and Probably Wrong, explores a sparse, stripped-back sound that feels nicely aligned to Zach's own alt-country, folk-leaning style.

With Parker McCollum outlining in his Holler interview that he aspires to work his way back to this vibe on his upcoming album - which he revealed he'll start recording in March 2024 - it seems it could be perfect timing for Zach and Parker to join forces on a track.

Hopefully Zach Bryan will see ‘Something in the Orange’ as Parker McCollum continues to ‘Burn it Down’, and the two can get together for a fiery duet before too long...

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