Parker McCollum’s first two major-label albums racked up hundreds of millions of Spotify streams. But with his third record, those numbers appear to have dipped.
McCollum’s first major-label album, Gold Chain Cowboy, reached roughly 450–456 million Spotify streams, according to Kworb. His second album, Never Enough, earned 346 million streams, while his latest, Parker McCollum, has reached 99 million so far.
McCollum addressed the difference during an appearance on the Ten Year Town podcast, where he shared exactly how he feels about it — and he didn’t hold back.
The “Pretty Heart” singer said, “Compared to my last two records, not even remotely close to the same performance numbers-wise, and I will tell you with 100 percent honesty, Troy, I don’t give a s–t one bit.”
Why Doesn’t Parker McCollum Care That His Streaming Numbers Have Dipped?
The young singer and father says there’s a simple reason he isn’t worried about the drop in streaming numbers: “For one reason — because I love that record so much. I knew going into it, man, this record’s for me.”
Read More: EXCLUSIVE: You’ll Be Surprised to Hear What’s on Parker McCollum’s Personal Playlist
McCollum has also told me in the past on Taste of Country Nights that he wanted his third record to return to the sound he started with.
It’s slightly different from his first two commercially successful albums. At this point in his career, he has more control and was able to make the record exactly how he wanted — not how others may have wanted it in the past.
While the streaming numbers are significantly lower for this project, McCollum seems to be in the exact mental space he was aiming for: making the record he wanted, on his own terms, without outside pressure.
13 Criminally Underrated Country Stars
We talk about ’80s ladies like Dolly and Reba. We’ll go on forever about the ’90s gals like Trisha, Faith, Shania and Martina, but what about Anne and Mary.
Anne Murray and Mary Chapin Carpenter were record setters and they’re just two of the great women found on this list of underrated country stars. Six solo men, five solo women, one duo and one country group are included. Who would you add?
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
