To ask: Why do English singers sing in an American accent?

[rainydaysarebad]

I can only think of a hand full of exceptions: lily Allen, the streets...that man who sings "our house", Damon albarn. Everyone else sings in an American accent. Even my daughter sings in an American accent. Wth is this? Why does it happen?

My ds's been awake for 40mins and this is all ican think about....

I bet everyone is cosy asleep :(

There was a sciency article about this not long ago. Apparently, it's just easier to sing that way and sounds better.

Still sounds a bit pretentious though.

www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7922639/Rock-n-roll-best-sung-in-American-accents.html

Sorry - not saying your DD is pretentious, just the English rock & pop stars .

Wow - this has actually been studied? It's ok, dd is ony 4, she still has time to maybe grow out of it.

Ed Sheeran doesnt sing in an American accent

And I must admit I lOVE rap 'spoken' in an English accent

Try Goldie lookin chain. They rap in welsh accents

This is why I could never see the attraction of Any Winehouse. Her fake American singing accent was too cringey.

My childminded children role play in American accents. Drives me banAnas.

I know. it's ridiculous. Some of the fake accents are just so pronounced that they sound ludicrous. Someone is singing in a thick american drawl, steps off stage and says ey up luve, what did y'think o'that then?

You can tell the ones that are putting it on and I cringe for them.

oh, that's thick as in heavy, very strong, not thick as in stupid. Best to make that clear lest I find myself lightly roasted

No idea why they do it. Jarvis Cocker sings with a lovely Sheffield accent though, so there's another for the list of non US-voiced singing. Oh, and Cerys Matthews.

It's easier than enunciating the words properly so you can focus more on the singing rather than the words. Laziness basically!

It's part of the whole American world dominance plan. Take over the tv, get all the children to say MOM instead of MUM, pants instead of trousers.... The next thing you know, Britain will be an American colony and all its rich culture will be lost!!!! Muwahahaha!!!! Lock up your children before the Americans come and make them stupid and fat!!!

On R4 once they tried to get The Proclaimers to sing in American accents. They still sounded very Scottish.

Maximo Park definitely Geordie!

My DP started doing an American accent in bed once. I nearly wet myself laughing

there's an academic paper on this from the 70s. When the Beatles first started they were singing in v v iverpool accents. Later albums aftter they toured America become much more American. Ditto Pink Floyd, ditto U2. The author concludes that conquering America became very important for musicians in 60s and has led to them seeing American Eng as a 'model'. On a practical level it means my students ask to analyse pop songs as part of their projects to see if it's still true and it meant I had to listen to more Arctic Monkeys singles than I was comfortable with last year to check their analysis....

This gets on my nerves. Laura Marling doesn't do it.

It annoys Sinead O'Connor, too. I always thought this was very funny:

O'connor Slams Boyzone's Keating
Irish singer SINEAD O'CONNOR has launched a vicious attack on BOYZONE frontman RONAN KEATING - insisting she wouldn't duet with an Irishman who sings in an American accent. O'Connor admits she has snubbed the When You Say Nothing At All hitmaker's requests to sing with her because she hates his music. And the only factor that would change her mind would be a pledge from Keating to lose his U.S. twang. She says, "He asked me to duet with him, but I turned him down because I could not stand Boyzone. "But I also told him that if he stopped singing in an American accent I would consider it."

The way vowels are placed when using an American accent makes the sound carry - basically it allows you to sing louder without straining.

Not English, but Twin Atlantic and Biffy Clyro sound very Scottish
Lostprophets never sound American but they're Welsh

"Ride Sally, ride....not fuckin' roiyde Sallee roiyde"

There are plenty that don't
A lot of the ones that do are the manufactured or discovered on crap tv types

Is it the wanted who sing " crying won't drahn it aht"? That sounds very London!

alliwantisaroom yes...dd role plays in an American accent too - I blame Disney and the chipmunks.

storminabuttercup hahahahaha why?!! Did you ask him why?

I read the article and I suppose it does make singing easier but it sounds stupid. Walton John is guilty of this too.

Elton, even!