Devin Dawson Reveals Nearly Year-Long Battle With Vocal Disorder

Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Devin Dawson has revealed that for the last ten months, he has been struggling with dysphonia, a voice disorder.

The Warner Music Nashville recording artist recently sat down with Storme Warren on SiriusXM’s The Highway to discuss the disorder and his journey over the last year.

“It’s something that I’ve realized isn’t common, but it definitely happens to people. But no one ever really talks about it,” Dawson shared. “I’ve never had an issue being vulnerable, honest or authentic, but it just felt like time to open up.”

He later took to his own socials to comment further, explaining that dysphonia is a muscle condition which affects how people talk and/or sing. Dawson noted that his experience has “severely” affected his talking and singing voice in the lower ranges.

“When all this started, I hoped it would be a couple [months of] recovery and that I would do all the work to find my way through,” he said. “Although I’m way better than I was a few months ago, I’m still not where I need to be to give y’all 100%, which is what y’all deserve.”

He continued by sharing that throughout this journey, he has been very open about it with his Nashville friends and family, explaining that from the beginning it wasn’t something that he wanted to hide or be ashamed of. Though there have been a lot of hard moments along the way, he explains there have also been some positives, including perspective, clarity, humility and being able to “sharpen other swords.”

“I’ve still been writing every day and been lucky enough to work with some amazing people [and] some insanely talented artists, writing some of the best songs I’ve ever written mostly for others, but a few special ones for myself when they come to me,” he noted. “I want to say thank you to y’all for always making it known that y’all believe in me—even if I disappear from the spotlight for a bit. I’ve learned a lot from this and I will continue to learn more.”

Dawson closed by sharing his exciting for a new record, though he’s not sure when it’ll be just yet.

For the full conversation with Warren, click here.