2011–2014: Debut EP and Til the Casket Drops After moving to Los Angeles and signing to
E. Kidd Bogart's Boardwalk Entertainment Group, Ward began recording the
Criminal EP, as well as
Eleven Roses, a free mixtape on which she offered her interpretations of tracks by
Kendrick Lamar,
Childish Gambino,
Tyler, the Creator,
Freddie Gibbs and
Wiz Khalifa.
Eleven Roses features "Better Of Dead", "Got It Bad", "Overdue", "Criminal", "Morphine", and "Cinnamon Stix". It was released on 3 November 2011. For the recording of "Criminal", she sampled the beat from "Oil Money" by Freddie Gibbs, who was so impressed by Ward's remake that he asked to contribute a guest verse to the official version on the EP. The
Criminal EP was released on May 8, 2012, and features the songs "Til the Casket Drops", "
Put the Gun Down", "Move Like U Stole It", and "Criminal" (feat. Freddie Gibbs). Ward's debut album,
Til the Casket Drops, was released on October 16, 2012. It includes the singles "365 Days", "
Put the Gun Down" and "
Last Love Song", the song "Cryin' Wolf" with Kendrick Lamar, as well as appearances from
Ryan Tedder,
Ali Shaheed Muhammad,
Theron "Neff-U" Feemster and
Fitz of
Fitz and the Tantrums. Ward performed the album's first single, "
Put the Gun Down", on
VH1's
Big Morning Buzz Live with
Carrie Keagan on September 19, 2012,
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 1, 2012, and
Conan on January 10, 2013. In March 2013, the
New York Times said of Ward, "Her energy evokes Tina Turner's, her chops Aretha Franklin's and her soul Etta James's", and she was named one of
Fuse TV's 30 must-see artists at
SXSW. Ward performed her second single, "365 Days", on
Good Morning America and
Big Morning Buzz Live, both on March 7, 2013; on the September 3, 2013, episode of
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; and on the January 30, 2014, episode of
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On April 20, 2013, for
Record Store Day, Ward released a limited edition 7-inch vinyl that included her cover of "Grinnin in Your Face", written and originally recorded by
Son House, and a previously unreleased song, "Everybody Wants to Be Famous". The 7-inch cover features an image taken of Ward when she was 11 years-old. The following month, Ward, in conjunction with her second single release, launched her 365 Days of ZZ Ward app. Notable live appearances in 2014 include
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival,
Bonnaroo Music Festival, and a short tour with
Eric Clapton.
2015–2018: Love and War EP and The Storm Ward's second EP,
Love and War, was released on
Hollywood Records on August 28, 2015. On February 11, 2017, Ward performed at the
Americana Music Association's tribute concert to
Loretta Lynn at the
Troubadour in
West Hollywood, California, performing a cover of "
The Home You're Tearing Down". She performed at the inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in June 2017 at the
Rose Bowl in
Pasadena, California. On March 2, Ward released the single "The Deep", featuring Chicago MC
Joey Purp. The track is built around a sample of "As Long As I've Got You" by The Charmels, which is also sampled in "
C.R.E.A.M." by
Wu-Tang Clan. The song is about Ward's feelings of being trapped in a bad relationship. The song's music video premiered on
W magazine's website on March 9, 2017. Also in 2017, Ward collaborated with
Gary Clark Jr. on "Ride" from the soundtrack to the
Pixar film
Cars 3. Ward performed "Ride" on
Dancing with the Stars on April 17, 2017. Ward's second studio album,
The Storm, was released on June 30, 2017, through
Hollywood Records. It peaked at number 1 on the
Billboard Blues Albums chart in July 2017, at number 12 on the
Billboard Rock Albums chart, and at number 75 on the
Billboard 200. The music video for the single "Cannonball" (featuring
Fantastic Negrito) was released in July 2017.
2019–2020: Departure from Hollywood Records In 2019, Ward released a new single which was speculated to be the lead single from a potential third studio album, the single "
Sex & Stardust" was released on December 13, 2019. On 2020, Ward released three more singles "Break Her Heart", "The Dark", and "Giant", these songs would be her latest releases under Hollywood Records before parting ways with the label.
2021–2023: Dirty Shine and Dirty Shine Records In 2021, Ward became an independent artist and funded her own record label Dirty Shine Records, the name being a nod to Ward's fanbase which reference themselves as
"Dirty Shine Fam”. She also announced her first independent single "Tin Cups" with
Aloe Blacc which end up being the lead single of her third studio album
Dirty Shine; five singles were released prior the album release. The album dropped on September 8, 2023, to widespread critical acclaim by music critics, who praised Ward's versatility and overall performance.
2024–present: Sun Records and Liberation On February 9, 2024, Ward released the single "WTH Did I Do?". She followed it up with the single "Best Friends" on March 8. Both songs were included on her third EP,
Where Did All the Love Go?. On May 20, Ward announced that she had signed with
Sun Records. Her first release with them was "Mother" on July 19. An extended play of the
same name, was released on October 4. The release of the extended play lead up to the announcement of Ward's fourth studio album
Liberation. The album was released on March 14, 2025, and saw critical praise from music critics, which dubbed it as Ward's best work to date.
Mother EP and
Liberation marked Ward's return to the charts, becoming Ward's second and third top-ten records on the
Billboard Blues Album Chart, peaking at seven and five, respectively. ==Personal life==