The months we spent with Austin Butler’s Elvis voice were filled with excitement (will he sound like Elvis this time?) and adventure (how long can he keep this up?). His clichéd southern twang was a constant during the endless awards-season press run to nab his Oscar nod and showed up just about whenever Butler opened his mouth. Just a little over a month before the Academy Awards, the twang that slipped into his everyday speech patterns and took root is leaving the building. Butler made the decision to retire the bit — for good. “I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing,†the Golden Globe–winning actor told the Graham Norton Show on February 3. Vanessa Hudgens’s ex previously felt like his DNA would “always be linked in that way.â€
“At this point, I keep asking people, ‘Is this my voice?’ because it feels, this feels like my real [voice],†he told ET ahead of the movie’s wide release. “It’s one of those things where certain things trigger it. And other times as well, it’s … I don’t know, when you live with something for two years, and you do nothing else, I think that you can’t help it. It becomes a fiber of your being.†Are we (Twitter bullying) to blame for the tragedy? Are his future jobs prospects being hindered? Or is the Oscar already so locked in he’s on to convincing us he’s 1980s Sting? Either way, RIP to a real one.