Why did Taylor Swift stop singing in a country accent?
NO SUCH THING
iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
4.6 • 609 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 73 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s episode, we’re tackling a question from a listener named Joel: Why do singers lose their accents when they sing?
Our guest this week is New Yorker writer Kelefa Sanneh. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore identity in country music, why Taylor Swift stopped singing with a twang, how Drake changed the way people think about authenticity in hip-hop, and why Adele and Harry Styles don’t sound British when they sing.
Want to hear all the music from this episode? Check out our newsletter for a playlist.
Check out Kelefa’s book Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres
If you’re new here, listen to episode 36: Is Taylor Swift bigger than Michael Jackson? and check out our NST starter pack.
Fill out our NST listener survey here.
Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (860) 325-0286
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ http://www.nordvpn.com/nst
Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, what's up y'all? It's Devin. Just a heads up. We have a no such thing listener survey out right now that you can take to your opportunity to tell us what you like about the show, what you would like for us to change about the show. As we're thinking about programming for season three of no such thing, this is something something we're gonna be paying very close attention to. |
| 0:22.2 | So you can take that survey |
| 0:23.4 | by either clicking the link in our show notes |
| 0:26.3 | or going to No Such Thing. |
| 0:27.9 | That show. |
| 0:28.8 | All right, enjoy today's episode. I'm Manny. |
| 0:43.6 | I'm Manny. I'm Noah. |
| 0:44.5 | And this is Devon. |
| 0:45.4 | And this is no such thing. |
| 0:46.8 | The show will resettle our dumb arguments and yours by actually doing the research. |
| 0:51.3 | On today's episode, why did Taylor Swift stop singing in a country accent? |
| 0:57.0 | That's it, yeah, that's good. |
| 0:59.0 | We explore authenticity in popular music. |
| 1:03.0 | There's no such thing. |
| 1:06.0 | No such thing. |
| 1:09.0 | No such thing. No such thing. This is an I-Hartic Thank. |
| 1:25.3 | Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. |
| 1:28.9 | Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, |
| 1:31.2 | so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, |
| 1:34.3 | thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. |
| 1:36.7 | Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, |
| 1:41.0 | such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.