why does it seem that everybody who sings in English, does so in an American Standard accent? Canadians, Aussies, Brits, New Yorkers, Bostonians, etc...

they may have the most thick accent in person, but they get near a mic, & out comes American Standard, why?

I hear the Beatles, Rolling Stones, U2, Men @ Work, Tom Jones, etc... all in American Standard

the only exceptions are Bob Dylan (hehehe), Joe Cocker & Country Western (nasal) singers

would it be, because American Standard English is more naturally voiced, so when singing, that comes out?

i only really find that with female singers, and even then its still not alwasy happenining. download some blindspott, bush, or the cranberries.

one thing i have noticed however is that most male new zealanders sing with a british accent.

How can you say the Beatles, for example, sing in "American standard"? Their style was undeniably English.

A lot of cover versions of songs are sung in the same "accent" as the original, whatever that was, so that might explain why a lot of singers sing in "American". On the other hand, many singers end up with what is known as a "mid-Atlantic" accent - a kind of neutral blend between English and American.

Folk music, country and other specialised genres (e.g. hip hop) all have conventional accents, which are deliberately American.

How can you say the Beatles, for example, sing in "American standard"? Their style was undeniably English.

A lot of cover versions of songs are sung in the same "accent" as the original, whatever that was, so that might explain why a lot of singers sing in "American". On the other hand, many singers end up with what is known as a "mid-Atlantic" accent - a kind of neutral blend between English and American.

That's what the poster meant I believe, today's generation of kids would have a hard time - if they didn't already know who the Beatles were - distinguishing "Hard Day's Night' as sung by brits.

There's way too much british stuff on british airwaves anyway, so I'm not complaining. Anyone who doesn't like it can restart his 'Coldplay' album from the beginning.

Jaybee.

The reason, actually, has to do with the way you learn speech. Accents, for all intents and purposes, are not natural. They are learned. Not that American English is accent free, nor that it's the best language in the world, but when you sing in American English (and I mean, really sing, not grit, grunge, or stylistic singing) your voice returns to its naturally clear state. Ever wonder why some Americans, when speaking, are a lot deeper than when they sing? Talking in a deep voice is a learned trait. Same with some Europeans. They sing deeper than when they speak. Singing is what we like to call the natural voice. If you threw away every learned trait you have from speaking, your singing voice would be the voice you actually spoke in.

There is also the fact that albums often are recorded twise, 1 for Europa and 1 for the US

I think it also has to do with the lengthing of sounds. Each sound influences the next, and when singing the speech is drawn out, there is less ability for the neighboring sounds to influence it. It's possible that some sounds in American/Canadian English are less influenced by neighboring sounds then British or Australian English. Here's a good question: why do people not from North America use the American Southern accent when speaking with an "American" accent? (Yes, I've heard British, French, Japanese, Indian, etc all use this accent).

because we are usually mocking americans when we do it, and southerners are easy to immitate when saying stupid quotes.