# Anyone else think most English singers sound American when they sing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665 "2016-10-25T05:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/21 "2016-10-26T23:33:11Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > My mom used to listen to Tom Jones in the early 70s, and so us kids were familiar with “It’s Not Unusual” and the rest of it. I remember being gobsmacked when I found out he was from Wales and had a thick accent. I am gobsmacked now because I had no idea until you mentioned it and I still had to look it up to believe it. That is a northeastern U.S. singing style if I ever heard one. I suppose he is a really good example though. He uses a Frank Sinatra style that is a mix between singing and seductive talking. How that I know he is Welsh, it is obvious that he is changing his native accent for performance purposes. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/22 "2016-10-26T23:47:05Z")
> [@Huvudtvatt](#): > > It’s a choice from the singers’ side. Bands who work in a mainstream pop/rock style tend to take on a generic american accent, but listen to almost any band in a more british genre like punk/ska/madchester/indie/britpop/shoegaze and there is no mistaking where they come from. Like the Jam, the Specials, the Beat, the Stone Roses, Blur, Pulp, Ride, **Belle and Sebastian** and so on. For some reason these bands tend to not do as well across the pond though. [bolded part mine] Funny that you mention Belle And Sebastian. I’ve seen them three times and know it also from stage chatter from live recordings that Stuart Murdoch has a very thick Scottish accent in speech that’s hard for me to follow, but when he sings it sounds like a generic British accent to me. Seems to support the theory that accents somehow are weakened when sung (though I still think that Klaus Meine’s German accent when he sings is notable enough to be cringe-worthy. I can tell because I’m German myself ;)). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/23 "2016-10-26T23:51:42Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > When this question comes up (I’ve seen it before on other forums as well) and someone says that singing automatically makes all singers sound American, I always wonder if they’ve never listened to the Beatles. Right. Also a Mexican Mariachi band, French pop, classical opera or just about anything else. Even “I want to Hold Your Hand” that helped introduce the Beatles to the U.S. was sung in an obviously British accent. The whole idea that singing wipes out accents is ridiculous. American English is distinct even in singing. Here is an Italian singer trying intimidate it and does a passable job. If you aren’t paying attention, you may not immediately realize that he isn’t using real words. The whole song is nonsense but that is what American style singing sounds like even to people that don’t speak American English. Other people learn to imitate it because that is what sells. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-VsmF9m_Nt8/hqdefault.jpg "Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m_Nt8&t=0m10s) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/24 "2016-10-26T23:58:07Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Probably because he is. Those were some of his biggest influences. When he was in the United States, he apparently went out doing some serious drinking with Muddy Waters. That is impressive. He does mispronounce some words in his Robert Johnson cover album. “Feet” for “Feets” comes to mind. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/25 "2016-10-27T00:47:34Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Probably because he is. Those were some of his biggest influences. > > That brings up a much bigger question though. If all of these foreigners can sing perfectly well in a normal accent, why can’t they just talk right all the time? There is obviously nothing wrong with them. Weirdly, the in between song chatter by the Cult’s Ian Astbury is done in an American accent, at least when he is touring in the States. In interviews tho he has his native accent. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/26 "2016-10-27T01:32:43Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That brings up a much bigger question though. If all of these foreigners can sing perfectly well in a normal accent, why can’t they just talk right all the time? There is obviously nothing wrong with them. If we spoke like you then you would understand us. And then you might learn _what is really going on_, which would not be to our advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/27 "2016-10-27T02:18:37Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > If we spoke like you then you would understand us. And then you might learn _what is really going on_, which would not be to our advantage. Very true. That is what keeps me awake at night. It is also why I terrified of Canadians. They look and sound like normal people but they aren’t and they can hide in plain sight. There could be one right next to you and you wouldn’t even know unless they admitted it. At least British people and Australians give you some tip-offs if you catch them speaking when they let their guard down. I am still shocked by that whole Tom Jones outing. I was absolutely sure he was a New Yorker until he was exposed as a plant tonight. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/28 "2016-10-27T02:25:21Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Very true. That is what keeps me awake at night. It is also why I terrified of Canadians. They look and sound like normal people but they aren’t and they can hide in plain sight. There could be one right next to you and you wouldn’t even know unless they admitted it. At least British people and Australians give you some tip-offs if you catch them speaking when they let their guard down. (South Park Canadian accent): Invasion of the Budday Snatchers, Guy! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/29 "2016-10-27T04:08:13Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > American English is distinct even in singing. Here is an Italian singer trying intimidate it and does a passable job. Quite intimidating. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/30 "2016-10-27T05:14:13Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Right. Also a Mexican Mariachi band, French pop, classical opera or just about anything else. Even “I want to Hold Your Hand” that helped introduce the Beatles to the U.S. was sung in an obviously British accent. The whole idea that singing wipes out accents is ridiculous. > > American English is distinct even in singing. Here is an Italian singer trying intimidate it and does a passable job. If you aren’t paying attention, you may not immediately realize that he isn’t using real words. The whole song is nonsense but that is what American style singing sounds like even to people that don’t speak American English. Other people learn to imitate it because that is what sells. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m\_Nt8&t=0m10s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m_Nt8&t=0m10s) Is that a Bob Dylan song? ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/31 "2016-10-27T20:44:59Z")
You can definitely sing in a regional accent. Listen to Morrissey sing Frankly Mr Shankly. Northern (English) accents seemed to be everywhere in pop around the time that Artic Monkeys got big, not so much now. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/32 "2016-10-28T13:12:06Z")
I disagree. (And somehow I did not post about this in the previous threads.) The retro-style girl group The Pipettes from a few years ago definitely sang with accents. In particular, words like “dahnce” and such are quite noticeable. Go [listen](https://youtu.be/wy7SvZQfeBM?t=22) to some of their songs. And they aren’t the only ones. ---
**Author:** ![Huvudtvatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Huvudtvatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huvudtvatt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/33 "2016-10-29T09:22:24Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > [bolded part mine] > > Funny that you mention Belle And Sebastian. I’ve seen them three times and know it also from stage chatter from live recordings that Stuart Murdoch has a very thick Scottish accent in speech that’s hard for me to follow, but when he sings it sounds like a generic British accent to me. Seems to support the theory that accents somehow are weakened when sung (though I still think that Klaus Meine’s German accent when he sings is notable enough to be cringe-worthy. I can tell because I’m German myself ;)). You’re right. After I wrote that I actually played some Belle and Sebastian and realized they were not a very good example. You can’t hear much Scottish in bands like Aztec Camera, Primal Scream or the Jesus and Mary Chain either. Camera Obscura is a better example. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/34 "2016-10-29T09:42:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Country singers sure don’t lose their accents when they sing! Country singers sound simply “southern” to me rather than from their specific region. It’s partly emulating a Nashville accent and partly that accents are flattened from singing. For me it’s like the Belle and Sebastian example but for the South instead of Britain. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/35 "2016-10-29T13:34:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I disagree. (And somehow I did not post about this in the previous threads.) > > The retro-style girl group The Pipettes from a few years ago definitely sang with accents. In particular, words like “dahnce” and such are quite noticeable. > > Go [listen](https://youtu.be/wy7SvZQfeBM?t=22) to some of their songs. > > And they aren’t the only ones. They certainly are not, and plenty of groups (Blur, The Smiths, Pulp, immediately comes to mind) sing with a British accent. That said, it is pretty much a stereotype that Many English bands/performers sing with an American accent, so the OP is certainly not the only to think so. The Beatles were kind of the poster kids for this. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/36 "2016-10-30T23:38:03Z")
It was a bit of a surprise to hear Lisa Stansfield speak in an interview, years after I’d heard her first singing on the TV. From American to definitely Northern English. [Singing voice and ordinary voice both in this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vT9wm7WUHE) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/37 "2016-10-31T03:33:16Z")
Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries has an Irish accent you could cut with a knife. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/38 "2016-10-31T04:47:09Z")
I agree that lots of English singers (and Irish singers) of the 60’s-70’s worked hard to sound like the American blues musicians that influenced them. I don’t blame them a bit for it, you want to sound like your heroes. On the other hand, I have a _really_ hard time singing Syd Barrett songs without sounding like I’m faking an English accent. So, how much of that is a stylistic choice can be variable. And for my money, the most English sounding rock singer, ever is Mark E. Smith of the Fall. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/39 "2016-10-31T05:13:10Z")
Singing in a different accent is a stylistic choice. Shania Twain is from Canada, yet affects a generic Southern US accent when she sings her country pop songs. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665/40 "2016-10-31T05:17:12Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > I’m American and, more often than not, I have a hard time distinguishing an accent from English performers when they sing. They usually sound American to me. (Yes, I realize that many would argue it’s Americans who have the accent, but you get my drift.) I’m often surprised to learn that singers or bands I’ve heard for the first time turn out to be English. Adele sounds like she could’ve been raised in Ohio to me. Anyone else? It’s not just you. The wife and I have both noticed this. One big exception is Lily Allen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-most-english-singers-sound-american-when-they-sing/769665.md?page=3)