“She Sounds Like an Ashtray”: Keith Urban on Miley Cyrus’ Memorable Vocal Style

For folks who have seen the complete metamorphosis of Miley Cyrus over the years, we know that besides her demeanor changing, a lot of other things about herself have changed. One of the most notable attributes is her voice, as when she was on Hannah Montana she had a supple innocent voice. Whereas now, her voice has the power and tone of a full-blown rock star.

Her vocal change has led to a vast amount of praise and success, as well as helped her immensely during her rebranding process. Regardless of these factors, one musician who has openly praised Cyrus’ voice is Keith Urban. Though, he went about in a rather comical way.

Keith Urban’s Compliment

Recently Urban sat down on the Australian radio show, Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie, in which they discussed a variety of topics about the music industry. However, the moment garnering the most attention was Urban’s compliments about Cyrus. Urban stated, “I love that voice, man, that voice. She sounds like an ashtray. And I mean that as a compliment. She sounds like the carpet at the RSL!”

It’s apparent that Urban meant no ill-will by the statement, though it is still quite hilarious. Urban doubled down on his fondness for Cyrus by celebrating her hit “Flowers” not only with compliments but also by covering the Grammy-winning song. To say the least, it’s all love between the two major music industry players.

Miley Cyrus’ Country Music Career

Following his compliments regarding Cyrus’ voice, he also went on to give some flattering remarks about her time in the country music scene. The comments particularly derived from Cyrus’ ability to make a name for herself in the genre not only with Hannah Montana but also seemingly with songs such as “Party In The U.S.A” and “The Backyard Sessions.”

Despite Urban’s kind comments about her country music career, fans can’t help but remember one thing from the interview—Urban’s comparison between Miley Cyrus’ voice and an ashtray. Some might find this comment weird, but hey, Keith Urban is a songwriter, he finds the most nuanced comparisons for the simplest things.

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission