Net vultures circle Joss Stone TV train crash

'What the hell is with that American accent?'

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Entertainment, 16th February 2007 11:14 GMT

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Updated The internet is a cruel mistress, and no messing. Pity if you will poor old Joss Stone, whose performance at the Brit awards earlier this week might have been consigned to the dustbin of history were it not for YouTube

Joss, we should explain to those of you not familiar with the chanteuse's work, is from Devon. Which is not, nor has it ever been, part of the good old US of A.

Joss could this morning been seen in a Brits clip* suffering from a nasty attack of Sheena Easton syndrome. Scottish-born Easton, older readers will recall, achieved fame in UK TV documentary The Big Time, and went on to have a string of hits including Morning Train and the theme to Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

In the process, she upped sticks to America and quickly developed a bizarre Caledonian/US hybrid accent which has never fully been scientifically explained.

Easton's career did, however, survive the outrage provoked by her inexplicable Americanisation. It remains to be seen whether Ms Stone can do the same. Comments on her drawl range from the moderate "What the hell is with that American accent, what a dirty chav" to "Vile little so and so.. She can take her arse and her ugly attitude back to the US where she got it from".

Our favourite, though, just about sums it up. As one viewer notes: "i can imagine her and christina aguilera having an argument about whos blacker". ®

Bootnote

For the record, plenty of TV viewers also complained about presenter Russell Brand's hilarious performance. Whether this is because they found references to the Queen's private parts offensive or simply because it wasn't funny, we know not.

Update

*The offending clip has now been removed from YouTube "due to a copyright claim by British Phonographic Industry Ltd". Those of you wishing to copy Stone's outstanding Yank accent can consider yourselves duly warned.

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