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.
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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 ;)).
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.
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. 
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.
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.
(South Park Canadian accent): Invasion of the Budday Snatchers, Guy!
Quite intimidating.
Is that a Bob Dylan song?
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.
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 to some of their songs.
And they aren’t the only ones.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries has an Irish accent you could cut with a knife.
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.
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.
It’s not just you. The wife and I have both noticed this. One big exception is Lily Allen.