“I Was Super Proud of Her”: Parker McCollum Pays Tribute to His Wife, Hallie Ray, After She Stars in His New Music Video, ‘Killin’ Me’

Parker McCollum may have already written a song about his wife, Hallie Ray, when they'd barely started dating back in 2020, but today (February 11th) marks the first time Hallie Ray has starred in one of the ‘Pretty Heart’ hitmaker's music videos.

The visuals for ‘Killin’ Me’, a romantic offering taken from McCollum's critically acclaimed self-titled album, have now dropped, with Hallie Ray stepping into the shoes of our protagonist's love interest. The curtain opens on McCollum pulling up at the 97 West Kitchen & Bar inside Fort Worth's Hotel Drover, before we see the Texas native sat at a bar enjoying a whiskey in nearby Billy Bob's. Shots of McCollum drinking are interspersed with clips of him performing on-stage.

Before long, he notices a woman - played by Hallie Ray - dancing alone in the middle of the crowd, her eye-catching black dress gliding across the floor as McCollum serenades her.

Speaking to Holler ahead of the video's release, McCollum pays a touching tribute to Hallie Ray, and admits she was feeling a little uncertain when filming began for the day.

McCollum smiles, “I think she was pretty nervous, and she didn't want me to watch. She wanted me to be out of the area while she was shooting her solo stuff. So I had actually kind of wandered off. And then as soon as she forgot about that, I peeked around the corner from a distance and I watched it all. I mean, I saw every take that she did. She didn't know that until afterwards. But she crushed it, man”.

The ‘Hell of a Year’ singer-songwriter expresses his admiration for Hallie Ray, “When you look that good and you have that pure of a spirit and an aura about you, it's gotta be easy to just be yourself and be wonderful and be lovely and pleasant on camera, as it is for her. It's just so natural...I don't think it's too difficult for her to be herself on-camera. I was super proud of her. I thought she did a really good job”.

McCollum underlines that the conditions would've made anyone feel a little unsure of themselves, with a host of unknown actors joining the set, “Look, it's tough. We had extras that we didn't know, they were just hired volunteers from the area. And so these people are watching you act this stuff out, and you're faking it. You're acting for the music video. And so it can be a little bit of an awkward thing if you're not used to it, if you haven't done it before. So I thought she handled it well. I thought she crushed it on camera. I'm excited for people to see it”.

The video captures the simmering, intimate ambience of the song, which finds McCollum eschewing the James Dean-esque persona he exudes on earlier offerings such as ‘Love You Like That’, as our narrator conveys his fervent adoration for his partner.

‘Killin’ Me’ is one of the many stand-outs from McCollum's 2025 record, with the ‘Handle On You’ chart-topper currently gearing up to release a deluxe version of March 20th.

The project, which features the fan-favourite ’Big Ole Fancy House’, kicks off what's set to be a blockbuster year for the country titan, with McCollum making his long-awaited UK and Ireland debut this Fall with Cody Johnson and Emily Ann Roberts.

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