“The Next Project”: Parker McCollum Offers an Update on His Popular Unreleased Song, ‘Jet Plane’

Parker McCollum might be on the brink of releasing a deluxe version of his widely lauded self-titled album, but the Texas native already has one eye on his next full-length project.

In a new conversation with Holler, the ‘Pretty Heart’ hitmaker offers listeners an update on the status of ‘Jet Plane’, a soulful, stripped-back song he teased on socials in November 2025.

He begins by revealing his plans to cut a new record before 2026 is out, “I'm gonna try to record another album by the end of this year. I say that lightly, because that can absolutely push into the next year...[‘Jet Plane’], to me, is not finished yet”.

McCollum underlines that he's still on the fence as to whether to tweak it slightly, “It could be [the finished version]. Exactly what that work-tape is could be what the final structure of that song is...Ryan Adams, and so many of my friends, so many of my favorite artists and songwriters have songs that aren't verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus...There's no law or rule that says that has to be the structure”.

The ‘Burn It Down’ singer-songwriter concludes, “So maybe that work-tape is ultimately what it ends up being the whole song...I think the melody is so pretty that maybe it doesn't need anything else. But that's the only song I have right now that I think I would go cut if I was going into the studio tomorrow. Luckily, I'm not. But, I mean, that song will absolutely be out at the very latest on the next project”.

‘Jet Plane’ finds McCollum showcasing his sinuous, charismatic vocals across a pared-down, piano-driven instrumental, creating a similarly intimate ambience to much-loved gems such as ‘Have Your Heart Again’, ‘Lessons From An Old Man’ and ‘Hell of a Year’.

As the pining, evocative sound of a harmonica gently enters the fray, McCollum croons longingly to a lover that he hopes is about to meet him, “Why the Hell do you think that I wasn't gonna fall in love / I don't know what to say when you ask me what I'm running from / ‘Cause the way that I've been ain't the way that I wanna be”.

Judging by the timestamp of “8.17.24” in the song's caption, it seems McCollum recorded this demo the best part of two years ago. McCollum has a track record of making fans wait for songs after first teasing them, as we saw with ‘Big Ole Fancy House’, which he finally dropped last month ahead of his Parker McCollum (Deluxe) project. As long as he sticks to his word and includes ‘Jet Plane’ on his next album, we certainly won't complain. We just hope this track doesn't end up being cast aside onto McCollum's growing heap of unreleased diamonds-in-the-rough, such as ‘Got Damn’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Be A Cowboy Tonight’.

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