Why do American singers sound British?

The reason behind this automatic flip to ‘American’ accent and not some other accent, it’s simply because the generic ‘American’ accent is fairly neutral. Once this happens, singers are forced to stress syllables as they are accented in the music, which forces singers to elongate their vowels.

When did American colonists lose British accent?

Around the turn of the 18th 19th century, not long after the revolution, non-rhotic speech took off in southern England, especially among the upper and upper-middle classes.

Why don’t British singers have an English accent?

Other British singers may have unconsciously adopted American pronunciation without even realizing it. These days there is no reason to intentionally hide an English accent while singing, so the first reason cited may be the bigger reason why you don’t perceive it today.

Why do New Zealand singers sing with an American accent?

A recent study suggests that the default singing accent for New Zealand pop singers utilizes American vowel sounds, even when the singers aren’t trying to sound American, perhaps because today’s singers were brought up listening to American (and imitation-American) pop vocals.

Why do people with accents sound different when they sing?

A person’s accent is easily detectable when they are speaking at normal speed. When singing, the pace is often slower. Words are drawn out and more powerfully pronounced and the accent becomes more neutral. Another factor is that the air pressure we use to make sounds is much greater when we sing.

Why don’t singers use regional dialects in their songs?

Even when singers aren’t trying to imitate a particular vocal style associated with a genre, regional dialects tend to get lost in song: Intonation is superseded by melody, vowel length by the duration of each note, and vocal cadences by a song’s rhythm. This makes vowel sounds and rhoticity all the more important in conveying accent in song.