Miley Cyrus has drawn fresh criticism after joking on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, 'Oh I forgot I'm supposed to sing every f*cking line', in response to complaints about her opening night. Fans who paid premium prices for the two-night run say the remark proved they were right to be annoyed.
The clip from her second show, on Sunday, 18 October, has spread online. The shows were meant to mark her return to a big stage after years away, yet the conversation since has been about how much of the night she actually sang.
Fans Say the Setlist Let Them Down
One fan said Cyrus leaned on the backing track and the crowd for around eight of the 18 songs on the Friday night show, and that before 'Party in the USA' she told the audience, 'I love songs like this where y'all will sing the whole thing for me'. The same fan said the priciest seats sold for nearly $1,000 because she had not played live in four years.
“Oh I forgot I’m supposed to sing every f*cking line”
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 19, 2026
— Miley Cyrus reacts to criticism from her first Hollywood Bowl show while performing tonight. pic.twitter.com/gtgtw6gmx6
Another commenter said the backing track sat at almost the same volume as her voice, which made it hard to tell what was live. A third argued that backing tracks are common in modern pop, though they still called it lazy.
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A Voice That Struggles With Long Nights
Cyrus has been open about why live singing is hard for her. She told Apple Music's Zane Lowe in May 2025 that she has Reinke's edema — a voice disorder characterized by the fluid-filled swelling of the superficial layer of the vocal cords — along with a large polyp on one vocal cord, and that performing with it feels 'like running a marathon with ankle weights on'. She has also said she will not have the polyp removed in case surgery changes how she sounds.
One fan on the thread accepted that her vocal cord problems make long sets painful. They still thought the criticism was fair, because she chose to headline a long show anyway.
Pay for a Ticket, Expect a Performance
The money argument ran through the whole thread. One user said that when you pay to hear an artist sing and they do not, 'it's ok to be pissed'. Another told her to 'read the room', and a third said singing is 'kind of your whole job'.
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The work jokes followed. 'Me when my job expects me to work at work,' wrote one fan, while others imagined a teacher who forgot they have to teach every kid and a janitor who forgot to clean every toilet. Some read her line as a dig at the Bowl crowd, with one user calling it a way to 'sneak diss' people who had done nothing wrong.
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The Calls for Miley Cyrus to Walk Away
That friction soon drove commenters to question why she continues touring at all. One user said that if she hates performing that much, she 'should just go retire in her ivory tower'. Others suggested a long break like Hilary Duff took, or making music without touring like Kate Bush. Another told her to open her dispensaries and retire.
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Her defenders said she owes nobody a tour, and one pointed out that 'Flowers' alone earned her enough to retire comfortably.
The Hollywood Bowl was meant to signal a triumphant return, but it instead captured an artist trapped between the demands of stadium stardom and the physical toll of her craft. Whether she chooses to heed the calls for retirement or lean into more intimate, health-conscious formats, Miley Cyrus has made one thing clear: the era of the unquestioned pop victory lap is over.
