For me, hearing the term 'apply yourself' was like a crucifix to Bella Lugosi's Dracula. 'Ahhh, it burns!'
I get influenced by stuff that isn't even music.
If I sang the way I talk it would sound like "Tommy Steele sings Muddy Waters!"
Because I'm English, I try not to make any purely American references, because I want to limit how much I'm pretending to be American.
Leadership is character in action.
I'm conscious enough that how I'm singing is not my own accent.