Regional Accents

[Huntn]

This could be a wide ranging topic. 🙂 Why do English singers typically lose their English Accent when singing? I listened to a discussion about the brain on National Public Radio and it asserted that our brains work differently when talking as compared to when singing. I found several links on line, here is reason 2 sounds good to me:

Why Do UK Singers Seem to Lose Their Accent When Singing?

Know the reasons why Adele, Elton John, Jessie J, and many other UK singers seem to lose their accent when singing.

www.daytranslations.com

Reason #2: Because of the melodies and beats​

Another interesting, and perhaps the more convincing theory, is that British singers lose their accents because of the melodies and beats they are trying to follow ase they sing. Linguist and author David Crystal said that the melody of a song neutralizes intonations while the beat takes away the usual rhythm associated with speech.

In casual speaking, everyone has full control over how to utter words, as unwittingly guided or nurtured by environmental factors. These environmental factors are mainly the usual people a person converses with and the usual conversations a person is exposed to. Verbalizing when speaking is different from verbalizing when singing. In the former, it’s the thought or the message being conveyed that counts. In the latter, it’s the melody and beat that matter. Talking is the same regardless of the intonation, speed, and rhythm by which a person speaks. With singing, a song is not going to be the same song without the correct tune and beat.

 

[DeltaMac]

I think that when singing, the singer will be paying attention to how the words are sung, to be sure of making the words clear and understandable. And, certainly the beat and melody are there. The singer is going to put their own "spin" on the words, so as to make the song tell a story, impacting the listener in some way.
Following the beat will often mean that there will be limits on how vowels are sung, which are the main part of verbalizing when singing. The "turn" of the vowels -- that change of the vowel sound from start to finish (dipthongs/tripthongs) are a large part of "getting the words out", and, I think that "turn" is a large part of the differences that make the accents what they are. The pronunciation during singing, where the singer has careful control over speed and timing for those vowel sounds, means that any normal speaking accent would be profoundly affected.
(I have sung with amateur a cappella groups for more than 40 years, and this is something that we talk about frequently, as it is important that all singers in our group have a goal of singing words/vowels with matching pronunciation. Accents mostly go away while singing)

 

[Loge]

I think Reason #1 is the main reason, applicable to most pop music. Of course melodies and rhythm certainly affect the extent to which an accent can be brought out in song. But it certainly possible for English singers to sound English and not American (for example Gilbert and Sullivan operettas usually done that way). Or I recall the musical "Billy" soundtrack - that was sung with a clear Yorkshire accent.