I've never had much of the accent from western Ky, near Nashville, where I grew up, and my brother used to ridicule me for saying things like "oil" instead of the proper "ole". There's not much I plan to do about it.

   Some singers will do imitations of not just accents but the vocal mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of famous voices, and it's often remarkably deadening, and unmusical to me. I think it's hard to find one's voice, both figuratively and actually, but I don't have any hard fast rule about what somebody might do convincingly. I've met people who were sure that Lucinda Williams was "probably" from New York, but sang southern for effect.