diff --git a/abogen/predownload_gui.py b/abogen/predownload_gui.py
index 47138f1..cc40933 100644
--- a/abogen/predownload_gui.py
+++ b/abogen/predownload_gui.py
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (
 )
 from PyQt6.QtCore import QThread, pyqtSignal
 
-from abogen.constants import COLORS, VOICES_INTERNAL
+from abogen.constants import COLORS
+from abogen.tts_backend_registry import get_metadata
 from abogen.spacy_utils import SPACY_MODELS
 import abogen.hf_tracker
 
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ class PreDownloadWorker(QThread):
             self._voices_success = False
             return
 
-        voice_list = VOICES_INTERNAL
+        voice_list = get_metadata("kokoro").voices
         for idx, voice in enumerate(voice_list, start=1):
             if self._cancelled:
                 self._voices_success = False
@@ -462,14 +463,14 @@ class PreDownloadDialog(QDialog):
         try:
             from huggingface_hub import try_to_load_from_cache
 
-            for voice in VOICES_INTERNAL:
+            for voice in get_metadata("kokoro").voices:
                 if not try_to_load_from_cache(
                     repo_id="hexgrad/Kokoro-82M", filename=f"voices/{voice}.pt"
                 ):
                     missing.append(voice)
         except Exception:
             # If HF missing, report all as missing
-            return False, list(VOICES_INTERNAL)
+            return False, list(get_metadata("kokoro").voices)
         return (len(missing) == 0), missing
 
     def _check_kokoro_model(self) -> bool:
diff --git a/abogen/subtitle_utils.py b/abogen/subtitle_utils.py
index 8d76ad6..41d114b 100644
--- a/abogen/subtitle_utils.py
+++ b/abogen/subtitle_utils.py
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ def sanitize_name_for_os(name, is_folder=True):
 
 
 def validate_voice_name(voice_name):
-    """Validate voice name against VOICES_INTERNAL list (case-insensitive).
+    """Validate voice name against available voices (case-insensitive).
     Handles both single voices and formulas like 'af_heart*0.5 + am_echo*0.5'.
 
     Args:
@@ -477,10 +477,10 @@ def validate_voice_name(voice_name):
             - is_valid: True if all voices in the name/formula are valid
             - invalid_voice_name: The first invalid voice found, or None if all valid
     """
-    from abogen.constants import VOICES_INTERNAL
+    from abogen.tts_backend_registry import get_metadata
 
     # Create case-insensitive lookup set (done once per call)
-    voice_lookup_lower = {v.lower() for v in VOICES_INTERNAL}
+    voice_lookup_lower = {v.lower() for v in get_metadata("kokoro").voices}
     voice_name = voice_name.strip()
 
     # Check if it's a formula (contains *)
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ def split_text_by_voice_markers(text, default_voice):
     """Split text by voice markers, returning list of (voice, text) tuples.
 
     IMPORTANT: Returns the last voice used so it can persist across chapters.
-    Voice names are normalized to lowercase to match VOICES_INTERNAL.
+    Voice names are normalized to lowercase to match canonical voice names.
 
     Args:
         text: Text potentially containing <<VOICE:name>> markers
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ def split_text_by_voice_markers(text, default_voice):
             - valid_count: Number of valid voice markers processed
             - invalid_count: Number of invalid voice markers skipped
     """
-    from abogen.constants import VOICES_INTERNAL
+    from abogen.tts_backend_registry import get_metadata
 
     voice_splits = list(_VOICE_MARKER_SEARCH_PATTERN.finditer(text))
 
@@ -560,7 +560,7 @@ def split_text_by_voice_markers(text, default_voice):
                         # Find the canonical (lowercase) voice name
                         voice_part_lower = voice_part.strip().lower()
                         canonical_voice = next(
-                            (v for v in VOICES_INTERNAL if v.lower() == voice_part_lower),
+                            (v for v in get_metadata("kokoro").voices if v.lower() == voice_part_lower),
                             voice_part.strip()
                         )
                         normalized_parts.append(f"{canonical_voice}*{weight.strip()}")
@@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ def split_text_by_voice_markers(text, default_voice):
                 # Find the canonical (lowercase) voice name
                 voice_name_lower = voice_name.lower()
                 current_voice = next(
-                    (v for v in VOICES_INTERNAL if v.lower() == voice_name_lower),
+                    (v for v in get_metadata("kokoro").voices if v.lower() == voice_name_lower),
                     voice_name
                 )
             valid_markers += 1