ZØYA - PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the pop artist, ZØYA, reveals what she does before taking the stage. You can check out the rituals below:

Preshow rituals... alright, I guess I've got a few of them.

The first one is hydration. I stay hydrated all day long and try to drink plenty of water. It prevents my vocal cords from drying out. Since I’m a big coffee drinker, I try to avoid drinking coffee before the show and instead replace it with matcha or green tea (warm temperature). I also avoid drinking any cold drinks—even water needs to be room temperature.

Eating healthy and fasting right before the show is important for my mind and body. I do my best to eat healthy throughout the week, especially on the day of the show. I stay away from unhealthy carbs, fats, and sugars. I stick with a lean diet, eat more veggies, and replace any meat with salmon or eggs as an alternative. I don’t drink any alcohol, and I don’t eat big meals at least 4 hours before the show.

Vocal warm-ups, deep breathing techniques, moving my body, smiling, and laughing as much as possible are things I do before shows. While traveling to a venue, I do vocal warm-ups in my car for about 15 minutes or so. They are straightforward vocal warm-up exercises that involve hums, projections, scales, lip trills, pitch glides, sirens, etc. My voice is usually fully warmed up and ready to rock after the soundcheck is done at the venue.

Last but not least, I’m a believer, and it’s essential for me to stay present and connected to my faith. I pray and talk to God before I go on stage and perform. Prayer calms my nervous system and gives me a sense of confidence, courage, and energy. It centers and grounds me spiritually, opening up a new perspective on how to approach a certain show, read my audience, and interact with the crowd.

Keep up with ZØYA on her website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and SoundCloud.