ZZ Ward (born Zsuzsanna Eva Ward) broke onto the music scene with her full-length album Til The Casket Drops in October of last year. Since then the powerful singer has been on the rise, impressing listeners with her unique blend of hip-hop and blues, which she attributes to her musical upbringing as a child. Whether this is your first time delving into the soulful world of ZZ or you’ve heard her featured on Pretty Little Liars, you’re sure to fall for her soulful vocals and charismatic personality. The Bite had the chance to chat with ZZ about her music, Edward Cullen and a mutual love of luxury popcorn. Make sure to catch her Down and Dirty Shine Tour at the House of Blues on September 24.

Why did you start making music, and has that reason changed since you started?

I started writing. I felt like it was something that just ran through my blood…I always wanted to sing. At some point early on in my life, I really wanted to have a voice to my lyrics and my melodies and my sound and it to be my music…When I was probably 13 or 14, I was sitting down and trying to write my own stuff…I think it started out that it really became a way to express myself and what I was thinking and how I was feeling. I don’t think that really has changed or will change. If it does, it’d be a problem. That’s probably when I should hang up the towel and say “no more,” if I’m doing it for any other reason than for the passion of it. I still feel like it’s the best way to express myself.

Going back to your writing process, do you normally get a melody first or start with lyrics?

I normally start with melody…I think people talked before language was created, and there’s so many different languages. I think that the first step to something for me is coming up with sound.

What is your favorite track on your album and why?

I think it changes all the time. I think right now I would probably say “Last Love Song” is my favorite track on my record. I think the reason being is because I think I strive to create music that really captures a moment in my life, a moment in time and a very intense feeling. I feel like I really did it with “Last Love Song.” I think that it’s a very honest song about having a broken heart, and I think that that would probably be the one that I would say right now.

Personally, I really like “365 Days.” What was the song targeted towards and why?

I wanted to break up with someone that I was with…I just was fed up and I wrote this song to kind of move towards helping me break up with him.

If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?

I think right now it’d be with Azealia Banks…I really dig her. I think that she’s pretty outrageous, and I respect that mischief. So I think it’d be really cool to [collaborate] with her.

What was it like having your song “Til the Casket Drops” featured on Pretty Little Liars?

Oh my gosh, fantastic. It was so cool. I never really expected that to happen. I love all the girls on Pretty Little Liars, they’re wonderful. Lucy Hale is a sweetheart, and she’s come to my shows before. I mean just having my song on that show it’s… really become a way that people have heard about me. Pretty Little Liars fans, they’re very committed. They love the show. So it’s a really great way to get my music out to people.

Other than that, what is the coolest thing that has happened to you while on tour?

I think the coolest thing would probably be playing for like 10,000 people at Firefly Festival in Dover, Delaware. I wasn’t expecting it because during sound check there were like, I don’t know, maybe 20 scattered people there, and then literally 20 minutes later there were 10,000 people. I remember being out on stage, and I was just like…“This is the biggest amount of people I have ever played for in my entire life…This is a moment. This is a moment.” I say that was probably one of the biggest moments so far.

Do you have any pre-show rituals that you usually do?

Yeah, I always get the band together, and I always talk to the band before we go onstage about the specific city, you know, try to think about what it’s going to be like. Most of the time I say I have no idea what the show is going to be like which comforts no one. At the end of the day, I encourage us to just rock out because we have to start the party being onstage. That’s our job, no one else’s. So we come together before every show, and we talk and do a little cheer.

Have you met any cool people while on tour?

I meet people all the time who are really cool. All the time. People [never] cease to amaze me. Last night I had four girls at the show that had shirts made that said “don’t tell lies in heaven” and on the back “or an angel will get mean,” which is one of the lyrics from “365 [Days]”…People [never] cease to amaze me. And I’ve met other musicians, it’s really cool to meet other people out here and just talk to other people that are doing the same thing as you.

Have you met any people that have inspired your music?

Yeah, definitely…it’s really cool when you meet people like that…There are people who (I don’t want to say specifically who they are,) who have reached out to me and said they really loved the record, and there are people I grew up with too. That’s pretty magical, you know…Everybody— people are just people who have taken different paths. It is cool though when that happens.

Do you have any plans for the future?

None. At all. [laughs] I mean, yeah, I want to keep writing when I can find time to write. I’m out on the road grinding right now…We have shows every day so there’s not a lot of downtime. This tour goes until mid-October, and I’m loving it right now. I think that the crowds are getting bigger, and the people are really enthusiastic out here. People are excited. They look forward to these shows, which in return makes us love to play. So that’s what’s going on right now, and I’m sure there’ll be more to come after mid-October.

Do you have any quirky habits that you do that your fans wouldn’t know about?

Quirky habits. That’s a great question, I’m trying to think. I really love popcorn. Like love popcorn. I would probably eat popcorn, fresh-cooked popcorn, every day if I could. I don’t know why I love it so much, but I love it. And I love sushi. I’m obsessed with sushi. Good sushi, not bad sushi. But good sushi in LA, or even Nashville has great sushi…And then I love Hawaii, but that’s not a quirky habit. Let’s see, I like the Twilight books.

Are you Team Jacob or Team Edward?

Oh my gosh, I’m totally Team Edward. Come on. I love Edward…Until Jacob takes his shirt off, and then you’re kind of like, “I’m not too sure anymore.”