Parker McCollum is a first-time winner of the ACM Album of the Year award, courtesy of his widely lauded self-titled project, which saw the Texas native stripping back his sleek, polished sound and returning to the rawer textures of his earlier material.

It has proven a hugely successful move from the ‘Pretty Heart’ singer-songwriter. However, as McCollum explains to Holler in his 2026 interview, he was seriously weighing up whether he wanted to continue making music before starting that project.

McCollum recalls how he was struggling with a crisis of identity in the aftermath of his 2023 album, Never Enough, which leant into the mainstream country sonics of Gold Chain Cowboy. Although both projects were commercial hits and popular with country listeners, his Day One fans made no secret of the fact that they were longing for a return to the DIY, alt-country aesthetic of his debut record, Limestone Kid, and his sophomore effort - this writer's favourite - Probably Wrong.

McCollum candidly reflects, “You know, I've never one time intentionally gone for any kind of ‘sound’. Even on the last record, I've always just written the songs and sang the songs and made the records that were coming out of me at the time”.

He goes on, “And that is 100% honest. You know, I think it really has a lot to do with the headspace that I'm in. I think you can listen to certain records and hear how present and engaged I was at the time. I think, with this latest record, the self-titled one, you can tell I was pretty committed. I was very aware of what I was doing”.

McCollum emphasises how he struggled to hold on as his popularity exploded, “You know, when I signed my deal, it was already going kaboom, and it went kaboom, kaboom. It was in hyper-speed for a few years there. And I just kind of felt like I never really had my feet underneath me. I just couldn't figure out how to balance it all - writing a record, and recording a record and being invested in touring. I mean, I was beat, man, in the best way possible. All my dreams were coming true”.

He admits, “But I hit a wall creatively a couple of years ago and I was questioning whether I still loved it or not. I was like, ‘Man, do I really still enjoy the creative side of this business?’ And so this record was really about me going and answering that question. I was like, ‘Man, the only way I can answer that question is to just strip it all back, start completely over, get straight back to the basics, and just go be the singer-songwriter that Parker was when he very first picked up a guitar’. That was a scary thing, man. That's an easy way to really lose people and lose your fans pretty quickly, you know, if you don't hit the nail on the head”.

McCollum concludes that, thankfully, his risky journey back to his original outlook was a fruitful one, “I was really trying to find the buzz again. I was trying to fall back in love with it. And it worked. I did. I made that record, and I was like, ‘Man, I really do still love the creative side of this business’...And it's kind of had an indirect effect on the other parts of the business that I've started to really lean into and enjoy as well, just because I finally feel like I'm creating something that my heart, my soul and my spirit are completely invested in. It just took slowing it down and kind of stripping it back and getting back to the basics”.

With a new piece of silverware in the form of the ACM Album of the Year gong in his cabinet, it's safe to say McCollum's decision to zero in on a relentlessly authentic, honest approach to making music paid off. His triumph in Las Vegas will no doubt give the ‘To Be Loved By You’ hitmaker a deep sense of vindication and validation, and we can't wait to see what's next from the trailblazing country star.

For more on Parker McCollum, see below: