Share this @internewscast.com
Mitch Thompson from country/pop act Seaforth sounds straight out of Nashville — yet he grew up in Sydney. So why does he sing with an American accent?
“I have to really think about it to sing in an Australian accent,” Thompson, 35, told The Feed.
“It’s almost like a different section of the brain when I start singing — a different muscle memory of ‘this is how words sound when I sing, this is how words sound when I talk’.”

Thompson recalls being at a singing competition where he was told he sounded too similar to Missy Higgins, who sings with a strong Australian accent.

“One of the judges was like: ‘You can’t copy Miss Higgins’ voice so much. It’s a little too Aussie,'” Thompson said.
So, his singing accent shifted, and by the time he moved to Nashville, the world’s country music capital, almost a decade ago, Thompson had lost all trace of Missy Higgins.
“Anytime I go off stage, there’ll be at least one person that’s like, ‘Where’s your accent go when you sing?’ Or people that didn’t know that Seaforth is Australian.”

Seaforth has now amassed close to 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

A man is holding an acoustic guitar performing at a festival

Mitch Thompson, who performs as Seaforth, sings with an American accent. Source: Getty / Michael Hickey

“The accent and how I sing is just purely based off the music I was listening to,” Thompson said.

“There was never an active: ‘I need to sound like Keith Urban’ for it to work over here.”

There’s been a significant drop in local acts making it into Australia’s top charts, partly due to the rise of streaming services such as Spotify with algorithms that favour US and UK acts, according to music researcher and former record label manager Tim Kelly.

“It used to be the case that you can make a living as an Australian artist in Australia … like Hilltop Hoods … or Powderfinger … who sold most of their recordings and did most of their touring in Australia,” Kelly told The Feed.

“Now it’s deemed that there isn’t enough money in the Australian market and you’ve got to have two other markets as well as Australia.”

When the accent doesn’t fit the song

The Australian accent can feel like a hindrance, due to the pronunciation of certain sounds, particularly ‘s’ and ‘r’, according to Ariana Rigazzi, a vocal coach based in Melbourne.
“In one syllable you’re pronouncing two vowels [in the Australian accent] … basically your tongue is moving while you’re pronouncing that one syllable,” Rigazzi said.

“And that can be a hindrance while you’re singing. So it’s easier to do an American vowel instead of an Australian vowel to be able to actually get to the note and not have your tongue move.”

And Thompson says it would sound “jarring” if he sang in an Australian accent.

“You lose the rhymes in certain words that in an American accent would rhyme with the next [word] — you can make it rhyme,” he said.

‘You’ve got to sound more like us’

Australian artists are competing more than ever with the US and UK market to find an audience — and an accent or sound change may be encouraged by Australian labels to appeal to a wider audience, Kelly said.
“There’s this gravity of conformity that for new artists that would say, if you want to succeed over here [predominantly in the US and UK] … you’ve got to sound more like us.”

“And the industry supports that pressure because managers and record labels and agents and everyone else is going: ‘We want you to sound like the stuff that’s doing well.'”

A bald man with glasses is holding a microphone talking at a conference

Music researcher Tim Kelly says Australian artists are having to compete with the US and UK markets more than ever. Source: Supplied / casimaria

Algorithms within music streaming services are how many people now discover new artists; it also plays into the demand for Australian artists to adapt their sound.

“There’s this pressure to get on the algorithm, to sound like other people, to be able to appeal to international markets by leaning into what works in those markets,” Kelly says.

Do Australian musicians have to change their sound to find success?

Kelly says there’s a cultural influence from international markets that has shaped the sound of Australian music — and it’s worked. The Kid LAROI, Vance Joy, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Troye Sivan are among Australia’s top streamed Spotify artists and yet international audiences would be forgiven for not realising they’re Australian.
“[There is] increased pressure for you to be able to succeed in other markets and not get locked into an Australian context. There is a debate about whether if you become a triple j favourite — that’s great in Australia — but it might lock you out of other markets,” he said.

“Then you’re just seen as an Australian artist.”

There are exceptions. Acts like Amyl and the Sniffers, Shady Nasty, DMA’s, Sticky Fingers, Stella Donnelly, Courtney Barnett, and Hilltop Hoods, who all sound distinctly Australian and have found international success.
“The artists that are doing well … Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard, Tame Impala have an Australian-ess about them that has actually served them well in an international context,” Kelly said.
Amyl and the Sniffers, whose sound is defined by the distinctive voice and accent of lead singer Amy Taylor, recently played at Glastonbury festival in the UK: and Thompson believes global audiences are waiting with open arms to embrace more Australian-sounding music.

“An Australian accent would actually stand out more than anything in this market.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
'Doom and gloom': Truth behind Australia's birth rate 'crisis'

Unveiling the Reality: Is Australia’s Birth Rate Crisis Fact or Fiction?

Australia’s declining birth rate recently captured attention when the Bureau of Statistics…

Justice Delayed: Kumanjayi White’s Family Awaits Answers as Inquest Stalls

Warning: this article contains the name of an Aboriginal person who has…
Australians who've self-diagnosed a gluten intolerance have been warned that they're likely cutting out the wrong foods.

New Research Reveals Aussies Misdiagnosing Gut Problems as Gluten Intolerance: A Growing Health Concern

Australians who have self-diagnosed with gluten intolerance might be excluding the wrong…
British royals' historic Pope prayer is welcome Epstein scandal respite

British Royals Seek Solace in Historic Papal Prayer Amid Epstein Scandal Turmoil

Britain‘s King Charles III and Queen Camilla have prayed with Pope Leo…
North Korea's stolen crypto billions revealed

North Korea’s Crypto Heist Exposed: Billions in Stolen Digital Assets Uncovered

North Korean hackers have managed to steal billions by infiltrating cryptocurrency exchanges…

US Targets Russian Oil Firms with Sanctions as Trump Voices Unease Over Putin Summit

US President Donald Trump has slapped major sanctions on Russia’s two largest…

Lidia Thorpe Submits NT Attorney-General to Corruption Watchdog Over Alleged Court Interference

Senator Lidia Thorpe has filed a report with the NT Independent Commission…
Kristy Appleton fell sick with meningococcal B on the day she returned home from competing on the world stage in waterskiing.

Mother Urges Vaccination After Athletic Daughter’s Close Call with Meningococcal B

A mother from Queensland is advocating for the meningococcal B vaccine to…
British ex-soldier acquitted of Bloody Sunday massacre murder

Former British Soldier Cleared of Murder Charges in Bloody Sunday Case

A former British paratrooper who was the only soldier ever charged in…
Golden Bachelor contestant Nicolette (pictured) has broken her silence after her elimination - claiming the show stripped away her real story and reduced her to a 'nothing character' despite filming for nearly two weeks

Golden Bachelor Drama: Nicolette Criticizes Her ‘Minute-Long’ Edit and Calls Out ‘Robot-Like’ Bear Myrden

Nicolette, a contestant on “Golden Bachelor,” has voiced her frustrations following her…
Millions in the firing line of record-breaking heat

Unprecedented Heat Wave Puts Millions at Risk

Queensland is currently experiencing a severe heatwave, prompting authorities to urge residents…
Kasha McIver, 39, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her housemate Matthew Warrington in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday alongside her co-offender Dylan Wyatt, 38.

Shocking Revelation: Convicted Killer’s Chilling Confession of Self-Defense

A woman has confessed to killing a man, whose dismembered remains were…