Artist:ZZ Ward
Song:365 Days
Album:Til the Casket Drops
Blues rocker ZZ Ward had success in the Adult Alternative market with her 2012 debut album Til the Casket Drops. Then she didn't release her second album until 2017. As I always say, that's way too long a gap. Fans will forget about you. Not surprisingly, the album was unsuccessful and ZZ now records for her own label. She was born Zsuzsanna Ward June 2, 1986 in Abingdon, PA but she grew up in Roseberg, OR. She is named after her Hungarian Jewish grandmother. The name is a Hungarian variation of the Hebrew name Shoshanna. She grew up listening to her father's blues record collection and sang in his band as a teen. After moving to Los Angeles, ZZ signed with E. Kidd Bogart's Boardwalk Entertainment Group and he got her a record deal with the Disney owned label Hollywood Records. Bogart is the son of Casablanca Records owner Neil Bogart. The two married in 2017 and ZZ just gave birth to their second child. After releasing the EP Criminal and the free mixtape Eleven Roses, they went to work on her 2012 album Til the Casket Drops. Eleven Roses was covers of hip hop songs. The singles from Criminal charted in Adult Alternative. My guess is Hollywood wanted ZZ to take a more commercial approach and ZZ wanted to stick to blues rock. So they compromised and brought in Theron "Neff-U" Feemster to produce. He has worked with Eminem among others. Feemster produced about half the album including the single Put the Gun Down. Several other songs on the album including 365 Days were produced by JT Keller and Richard Parry AKA the production duo Blended Babies. They had previously worked with Kid Cudi. The album did OK but probably not well enough for Hollywood considering they had ZZ perform on several TV shows and they placed two songs on the TV show Pretty Little Liars. And the album was critically acclaimed. But Hollywood wanted hit singles. I agree that ZZ's music is not commercial and probably more suited for Alligator or Rounder. But Hollywood knew that when they signed her. I guess they thought they could talk ZZ into compromising her music. And remember she had Bogart on her side. So they didn't spend much money promoting the 2017 album The Storm and it did not do as well as the first album. After Hollywood released a couple of singles from a proposed third album, ZZ Ward left Hollywood Records. She released the 2023 album Dirty Shine on her own label. And now that she has given birth to her second child, ZZ Ward is starting a tour on July 19. Check her out if she's coming your way. Here's the video for 365 Days by ZZ Ward.
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