[Liberty4eva]

Interesting article from the telegraph that claims singers from around the world put on an American accent not to "break into" the US charts but because it's easier to sing with.

Ever since the Sixties, some of the biggest names in British music have been accused of faking their style to become stars in the US. But a study has found that people lapse naturally into a stateside twang because it is actually easier to sing that way – and feels more natural.

That is why it is difficult to detect Robert Plant's West Bromwich roots in the hits of Led Zeppelin, or a London accent in the Rolling Stones or hear any trace of South Wales when husky-voiced Bonnie Tyler belts out a ballad. According to researcher Andy Gibson, the American voice is easier to sing with and is so commonplace that it should be called the "pop music accent" instead.

Mr Gibson, of the Auckland University of Technology, made the claim after tests on New Zealand singers. He found that despite speaking with distinct Kiwi accents, they would automatically sing the same words just like true Americans. This is because singing in a local accent would sound funny and because American rounding off of words makes it easier to sing them.

Mr Gibson said, "There were huge differences between the sung and the spoken pronunciation of the same words. "Consider the difference between 'I' (spoken) and 'ah' (sung), 'girl', pronounced without the 'r' in speech and with the 'r' in singing, and 'thought' with rounded lips in speech versus 'thart' with unrounded lips in singing. "Studies in the past have suggested that non-American singers wilfully put on American accents but my research suggests the opposite – that an American-influenced accent is the default when singing pop."

Mr Gibson believed his findings also explain why so many of us end up sounding like cheesy rock stars when we sing our favourite songs in private. "We do it automatically; it doesn't require any effort to sing with an American-influenced accent," he said. "The American-influenced accent is automatic in the context of singing pop music, and it is used by people from all around the world. "It actually requires effort to do something different. The American accent doesn't stick out in singing because we are so used to hearing it. "To sing in a New Zealand accent takes awareness and effort, and it is usually quite noticeable because it is so uncommon. "The American accent doesn't stick out in singing because we are so used to hearing it."

The accent people use in their singing is more about the style of music than about where they come from. "For example when we sing reggae we are more likely to use a Jamaican accent but even someone from Jamaica might use a southern American accent when they are singing country and western type songs," Mr Gibson said.

Anyone disagree?