Hi Josie and welcome,

I do know the issue of Jon's voice has been discussed here many times in the past; does anyone have a particular thread they can link here?

As for my personal take on the situation, I imagine it's due to a combination of the things you mentioned: Bad technique over the years, hence the steroid shots he ended up getting before live shows; smoking, just normal aging and wear and tear.

Typically, rock sings aren't classically trained in order to preserve their voices; they do damage early on and then have to repair what they can, usually with the help of a voice teacher.

I also think part of the issue with Jon's voice is that it's gotten a much more pronounced country-style twang to it since "Who Says" became a hit. But I think that's deliberate, and I think it's a 'style' of singing that makes the quality of his voice sound even more nasal than usual.

As for the strength of Jon's voice, I thought I remember Jon mentioning in interviews how he had to 'work for it' with regards to singing, and I've heard some critiques over the years that Jon isn't a 'natural' singer in the way that Richie is, for example. That said, Jon did/does have a very distinctive voice; when you hear it, you instantly know it's him.