It’s a gift and a curse.
Miley Cyrus has opened up about living with a condition known as Reinke’s edema during a recent interview. This condition contributes to her distinctive, raspy voice but also limits her ability to tour extensively.
The 32-year-old “Flowers” artist discussed on Apple Music’s “The Zane Lowe Show” that she possesses a “very large polyp” on her vocal cord, describing it as an abnormal tissue growth that’s part of her unique anatomy.
Cyrus elaborated, “[It’s] given me a lot of the tone and texture that has shaped my identity, but performing is incredibly challenging because it feels like running a marathon with ankle weights on,” she said.
The “Party in the U.S.A.” singer recognized that staying up late, drinking, smoking and partying after every show back when she was 21 did not “help” her issues, but she clarified it did not “cause it.”
“My voice always sounded like this,” Cyrus added.
The “Wrecking Ball” songstress shared that sometimes when she is overtired, her mom even points out to her that she sounds like she is “talking through a radio.”
“It creates that, like, ultimate vocal fry, and so I do have this blessing of a condition that I live with,” she said, seemingly finding a silver lining. “My voice is super unique because of it.”
Cyrus shared that she is not willing to take surgical measures to “sever” the polyp on her vocal chord because she does not want to risk the chance of “not sounding like [herself].”
In the meantime, the Grammy winner said she is taking other avenues to avoid straining her vocal chords, like not putting on shows as often as perhaps her fans would like.
Cyrus added that in order for a global tour, it would have to be done “in a way that is sustainable” for her because she doesn’t lip-sync, adding that live performance are “taxing.”
She also explained that if she doesn’t do a certain amount of concerts, then it won’t “mathematically make sense” to do the tour because she’ll be unable to pay the costs required for the crew and other expenses.
Cyrus’ candid admission about her voice comes as has opened up about other recent health battles.
The “Climb” singer also told Zane Lowe, 51, she had a “pretty traumatic experience” when performing on New Year’s Eve because she had an ovarian cyst rupture.
Cyrus then shared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that her “leg began to disintegrate around the kneecap area” after she rolled around on the floor of the Hollywood Walk of Fame for one of her latest music videos.
She said, “By November at Thanksgiving, I was put in the ICU for a moment — just for a moment.”
