Keith Urban Addresses Miley Cyrus 'Ashtray' Vocal Comment: 'Hope She Reads The Whole Interview'

Keith Urban has addressed the viral comment he made about Miley Cyrus’ vocals—particularly referring to her voice as an “ashtray.”

Appearing on the Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie podcast, Urban began, “I've always loved Miley. I love her voice, man,” when he was asked about her music.

Sharing the compliment that landed on headlines from TMZ, PEOPLE, and more, he continued, “She sounds like an ashtray. And I mean that as a compliment. I literally mean that as a compliment. She sounds like the carpet at the RSL!”

Speaking with The Music for an upcoming feature, Urban addressed the comment and said, “I hope she reads the whole interview. She has a phenomenal fucking voice – it’s great.”

Regarding comments blowing up after media outlets pick them up, Urban added, “You can’t do anything about it; you’d literally just have to do no interviews.

“The blessing and the curse is the news cycles are fast, so if you’re trying to promote a record, you have to do 50 things because it goes by so quick, and nothing sticks. So, you have to do 50 things to have ten stick. The blessing is that if something gets misinterpreted and it’s a shit headline, it won’t be around long.”

Keep an eye on The Music for an upcoming deep-dive chat with Keith Urban about his new album, High, and forthcoming Australian tour.

Last week, Keith Urban announced that he’ll be coming home in August 2025 for a massive run of shows in support of his new record. The tour will also feature special guest support act Chase Matthew, who will perform his first-ever Australian shows.

In June, Urban revealed that High was born out of a “prior record,” with Urban scrapping a previous project he found “musically limiting” in 2022 and going somewhere different.

He added, “When I’m writing a song, or when I’m in the studio recording it, or even when it’s coming to life on the stage, it’s the same feeling of being ‘in the flow.’ It’s timeless, weightless - and I feel euphoric - I feel HIGH.”

“What makes you ‘high’ can mean whatever you want it to mean. It might be physical, spiritual, herbal, meditative, chemical or musical, but it’s definitely a place of utopia.”

You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.