yorolpal
Try listening to anything by the fabulous british singer Beverly Knight (one of the greatest soul singers of all time IMHO) and then listening to her in an interview. It alters your perception.
+1 to that.
I sometimes think she hasn't had the recognition she richly deserves because she's a Brit and people expect their Soul singers to be American.
She certainly has the language of music down to a Shakespearean degree.
I think the British trend in Pop/Rock that Mooch is alluding too happened because being British seemed a bit mundane and ordinary to be classed as 'Rock Star' stuff in certain quarters. I think from the mainstream pop point of view, that started changing post punk and people like Morrisey started to point out that homespun mundane and ordinary could be seen as cool too.
I think partly too is that some British acts never sold well in America probably because they sounded too British.
I'm thinking as far back as Joe Brown and his Bruvvers as a really obvious example.