Miley Cyrus revealed what created her trademark raspy voice — and why it prevents her from touring.
During an interview earlier this month on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show, Cyrus, 32, attributed her unique voice to a medical condition called Reinke’s edema, adding, “[It’s] given me a lot of the tone and texture that has made me who I am, but it’s extremely difficult to perform with because it’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on.”
Cyrus noted that the “ultimate vocal fry” came as a result of a “very large polyp” growth on her vocal chords. “I do have this blessing of a condition that I live with,” she shared. “My voice is super unique because of it.”
While discussing the vocal disorder, Cyrus clarified that years of drinking, smoking, and partying when she was younger did not “help” her issues — but it also did not “cause it.” Cyrus went on to explain why she didn’t want to get surgery to remove the polyp because she didn’t want to risk “not sounding like” herself.
Cyrus’ health issue has also prevented her from going on a global tour. The singer cited the “taxing” live performances as the reason but she is still trying to find a “sustainable” way to make a tour happen while making sure it ““mathematically” makes sense for her performers and tour crew members.
Earlier this month, Cyrus described additional health issues. She revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she “caught something” while filming scenes for her “Walk of Fame” music video on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“I filmed this video in October, and by November at Thanksgiving, I was put in the ICU for a moment — just for a moment,” Cyrus recalled. “My leg began to disintegrate around the kneecap area. The doctor goes, ‘Do you have any idea why you would have such a brutal infection on your kneecap?’ And I just saw myself [rolling around on the Walk of Fame] and I had to tell him.”
Cyrus continued: “To have a surgeon look at you and say, ‘Yuck’ … Like, they open up cadavers, they see inside the gut of humans, and they’re looking at me telling me I’m disgusting.”
The performer also recalled a “pretty traumatic experience” while experiencing onstage during her 2023 New Year’s Eve special.
“I was doing with Lorne [Michaels] when I was doing my New Year’s show,” Cyrus told Lowe. “I had a medical emergency. I had an ovarian cyst rupture. It was pretty traumatic because it was extremely excruciating and I did the show anyway. But it was really, really hard on me.”
