John Mayer Discusses His Hiatus, His Vocal Problems And Being An “Idiot” On ‘Ellen’

Becky Bain | May 15, 2012 12:04 pm

It was only a few years ago when John Mayer‘s presence was unavoidable, as the singer-songwriter-lothario appeared on the cover of countless gossip magazines, spoke one-on-one way too much with TMZ, or provided inappropriate and ungentlemanly soundbites in interviews. Nowadays, Mayer keeps himself hidden away in Montana, and only rarely surfaces for interviews — like this morning on The Ellen Show, where he discussed finally growing up. “It was a very strange time and it sort of rocketed me into adulthood,” Mayer tells Ellen DeGeneres. “It was a violent crash into being an adult.”

The “Shadow Days” singer makes note of the “dumb interviews” (such as the infamous Rolling Stone and Playboy interviews) he gave before his self-imposed hiatus. “For a couple of years, it was just figuring it all out, and I’m glad I actually stayed out of the spotlight,” he says. “It was like, ‘No, idiot. Go away and be 33 and 34 instead of 28 for the fourth year.'”

Once a regular in the Hollywood scene, Mayer now lives “in the middle of nowhere” in Montana. Why Montana? “The question ‘Why montana’ is the answer,'” says Mayer. He continues, “Why not be happy after awhile? You get to a certain age where you prepare yourself to be happy, sometimes you never remember to actually get happy. So I remembered how to get happy.”

Mayer also discussed the problems he’s been having with his vocal cords, which have caused him to cancel shows and scale back promotion for his new album, Born And Raised.

“They cut this thing out of your throat and then they inject your vocal cords with Botox, which freezes your vocal cords so that this thing can heal without smacking up against the other side. I just need more Botox next time,” he explained. “It’s not a health concern whatsoever, but it has taken me out of singing. I tried to beat it the first time and couldn’t.”

Mayer’s fifth studio album Born And Raised, his follow-up to 2009’s Battle Sudies, will be released May 22. Hopefully John’s voice will get enough rest and he’ll be able to perform live again soon.