After living the last 14 years on reality TV, the Kardashians are ready to retire to un-televised normalcy after the upcoming Keeping Up With the Kardashians season 20, set to premiere on Thursday. While the show undoubtedly gave the family memories, GIFs, and memes that will last a lifetime, the show also left Kim Kardashian West and her sisters with something unexpected: um, completely different voices?
“That’s the biggest mystery to me and my sisters,†Kardashian told Good Morning Vogue’s Jonathan Van Meter after he pointed out how different she sounded when the show premiered in October 2007 during their interview, released Monday. “We are blown away,†Kim said to Vogue, in the video above. “It’s the thing that has us absolutely blown away.â€
Of course, their new voices could be the result of aging, of subconsciously leaning into the vocal fry, for which they were at one point so reviled, as a subtle “fuck you,†or simply the natural physiological change that comes when you perform for la caméra eight hours a day for over a decade. Or, in all likelihood, a combination of all three. We may never know for certain, and why should we, if Kim herself has yet to get to the bottom of it? “We have no idea what happened to our voices,†laughed Kardashian West. “We have completely different voices.â€
“Your voice deepens,†Van Meter suggested. “It feels more commanding.†Kim agreed, “All right, I like that.â€