Miley Cyrus has opened up about the personal reasons behind her decision to step back from touring, revealing that sobriety and a vocal condition have played major roles. The singer has not embarked on a world tour in over a decade, with her last major outing being The Bangerz Tour in 2014.
Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music in 2025, Cyrus explained that her sobriety is a key factor. She stated: "Over the years, I've learned that sobriety is my God. I need it. I live for it. It's changed my entire life. I have certain protocols, we talked about the sobriety, that's super important to me..."
Vocal condition affects touring ability
Cyrus also revealed that she has Reinke's edema, a condition caused by abuse of the vocal chords. She explained: "Being 21 and staying up and drinking and smoking and partying after every show does not help but also in my case it does not cause it."
The singer described how the condition affects her performances: "So my voice always sounded like this. It's a part of my unique anatomy. I have this very large polyp on my vocal chord, which is giving me a lot of the tone and the texture that's made me who I am, but it's extremely difficult to perform with because it's like running a marathon with ankle weights on."
Why Miley won't have surgery
When asked if she would ever have the polyp removed to enable touring, Cyrus said: "I'm not willing to severe it because the chance of waking up from surgery and not sounding like myself is a probability."
She added: "The touring, I'm really torn about it. I want to do it but it would have to be in a way that is sustainable for me. I don't lip-sync. I sing live and these songs are big. I don't little songs."
Past comments on touring
In 2023, Cyrus told British Vogue that she wasn't sure if she would ever tour again. She said: "I love performing but for [my friends]. Singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love. There’s no connection. It’s so isolating because if you’re in front of 100,000 people, then you are alone."
She further explained in a TikTok video: "Having every day the relationship between you and other humans being subject and observer isn't healthy for me, because it erases my humanity."
With her upcoming 10th studio album, Bass Persuades, set for release on September 18th, Cyrus is scheduled to perform two special shows at the Hollywood Bowl. However, based on her comments, it remains unclear whether she will tour the album extensively.
