Why do british people sound American when they sing?

Answer 1

They dont.. accent in singing sounds alot similar than talking because the tone of the words is in line with the tune, hence there is generally very little to distinguish different accents around the world. Only in rap which is talking that you can hear the accent.

AnswerFirstly, I don't know exactly what you mean when you say 'American'; there are so many accents and dialects in this country that one can not fixate on just one pronunciaton. A good singer from any country will hopefully use CORRECT ennunciation on all words; which means using the diction that brings out the meaning of the song most clearly. And that , to my mind comes closest to the British concept of speaking and/or singing. Good vowel shaping is good vowel shaping and clear precise consonants are clear precise consonants in any language. AnswerThe artists sing with American accents because they like how they sound, and they are mainly catering to an American audience, and also because (in the case of rock 'n' roll) the genre mainly evolved in the US in the 1950s. So their style of writing and performing their music is heavily blues influenced.

First answer, sorry, you're guessing but you don't have a clue. Second answer, "vowel shaping"? "Enunciation"? (Spelled with one "n", there goes your credibility as an English Major) "Diction" in Britain heard by Brits is just as clear and concise to them as our "diction" is to us. Vowels and consonants are pronounced differently in different geographical areas, but they are as clear and concise as the speaker or singer needs to make them, has nothing to do with the deliberate choice to sing in an American accent. We understand American accented singers more clearly because we are most familiar with american pronunciation. 3rd answer, you're in the ballpark, almost there. The answer is that British singers admired and emulated American music and especially blues and rock and roll such that it simply became a tradition to mimic musical styles right down to the pronunciation, or "accent" as you may describe it. Much like the tradition of wearing powdered wigs in legal and court proceedings. It basically became an almost universal cultural tradition among Brits. (I am a professional musician of 40 years) Paul McCartney once answered that very question in an interview.

Answer 2

Because they like how it sounds.

I don't buy this but 50%. Maybe less.

Let's look at some of the up-n-coming 60's brit bands trying to make it big.

Beatles: you can detect a prominant british accentuation (is that other a-hole poster gonna correct me here as well?) in a few of their songs....most tho....not so much.

Hermans Hermits (these f***ing a*smuppets should have been buried in a landslide somewhere)

EVERY SONG these a**holes did was with a cockney accent... WHY????

And look where it got them. Could they help it? Did Peter Noone sing this way on purpose? What I mean is, if singing ''American-Style'' was the key to the Money/Fame machine, why didn't Herman & his douchery follow suit?

Dave Clark 5 : almost same as above , but somehow MORE tolerabow (that would be >tolerable< spoken in cocney)

Stones: No Cockney, No Brit inflections & they ARE the kings

The Bloody "OO'' (Who): same as above.....just not as epic as R.S.

EDIT: apparently someone named ''dingobot'' thinks my post is somehow ''gibberish''

you no speakanzee anglais dingo?

what don't you ''get''........(mebbe above your paygrade.......methinks)

Answer 3

Many American music teachers and choral directors promote some pronunciations that are more typical of British speech.

In a chorus, it is always preferable to have everyone following some standard and so pronouncing things the same way, instead of having five different sounds for the same word at the same time.

Some elements of British will come across sounding better. For example, a quick flipped "r" between two vowels lets both vowels have the maximum allowable time while still getting the "r" in to insure that the meaning is clear.

Certain words (such as "laugh") are often pronounced with a more open vowel in British than in American, creating a more resonant sound in singing.

Answer 4

British singers often sound American because the act of singing smooth's over a lot of the features of the British accent. It may also be a stylistic choice to emulate certain artists.