Even as she came to the Disney Channel, Miley Cyrus stood out for her deep, special voice. Her characteristic dinner finally helped her win her first Grammy Award for the song “Flowers”. Although it became a trademark, this unique sound is due to a medical condition.

Problems in Miley’s vocal cords

Cyrus spoke openly about her “unique anatomy” during an interview with the Zane Lowe Apple Music on May 21. The singer of “Something Beautiful” explained that she is suffering from Reinke’s edema, a disorder where vocal strings swell. This can be caused by smoking, chronic gastroesophageal reflux or by repeated wounds to the vocal cords. Symptoms include a deeper and shorter voice, according to Cleveland Clinic.

“Being 21, staying overnight, drinking, smoking and partying after each show doesn’t help, but in my case it’s not the cause,” Cyrus said. “My voice has always been like that, it’s part of my unique anatomy.”

She also revealed that she has a “very large polyp” on her vocal string and credits him for “much of the tone and texture” that make her voice so special. Cyrus admitted that “it is extremely difficult to sing with it, it is like running a marathon wearing dumbbells on the ankles.”

The Touring Difficulty

Its condition adds a great level of difficulty to tours. As he explained to Lowe, one of the biggest challenges is to find the right balance between the number of concerts she can give without injuring her vocal strings and covering the costs of a tour.

“It’s not free to tour,” he said. “And if I can’t do a certain number of concerts, it doesn’t come out financially. And the way I have to do it … is why many artists do not tour as long as they would like. To make sense, it is very difficult to plan a tour that does not injure you, whether you have this condition or not. “

Accept for its sound

Cyrus has stated that she has received much criticism of her voice over the years. Speaking to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich for Interview magazine in 2021, he said: “All my life, either in vocal lessons or by improving my technique, I always heard: ‘Why do you sound like a man? Where is your Falceto? Why can’t you sing the tall note at ‘Party in the USA’? ‘

However, she celebrated her “authentic, true sound”, adding: “My voice is the way I express. It’s the means by which I declare who I am. “

In Lowe, he also emphasized the positive side of the situation, calling it “a blessed condition”. He also revealed that he decided not to go on treatment: “I am not prepared to remove it, because there is a chance that I will wake up from the surgery and no longer sound like me.”

Authentic, spontaneous and with a not comparable voice, Miley remains faithful to herself, with every note.