In the past week she seems to have put a lot of effort into pronouncing everything in received pronounciation. I don't mind because I think the Finnish accent is quite cute. It's quite common when people are taught English as a second language for a lot emphasis to be put on pronouncing things in RP but she sounds very English all of a sudden. Not saying it's a bad or good thing just wondered if anyone had noticed?

One of my lecturers sounds like she does now. Like a received pronounciation with a little twang. Either way, she still sounds great speaking and singing.

Finns often sound more Hollywood American than RP, because we all grow up with US TV shows, films, music... But, with the exception of the few who just can't shake their Finnish accent (a.k.a. Formula 1 drivers), if you already have a decent base with an American accent, it isn't that difficult to make a few modifications to sound more British. The one thing Finns struggle with the most, though, is intonation as Finnish is a very monotone language. So even if the words themselves don't carry an accent, it quickly becomes obvious in a full sentence.

doesn't matter when Nicole reminds everyone she isn't English

Thanks for this explanation. It's really interesting. I work with someone from Norway and she sounds American. I notice that quite a lot that people usually sound more American than English. But it makes sense if you've mostly watched American people speaking English. It's not really a wrong way to speak English either.

My understanding is that none of the Nordic countries dub TV shows or films (bar those aimed at children) and use subtitles instead which really helps with learning the language. I can't imagine watching Titanic in Finnish, whereas all of my German friends struggle with getting used to the original voices.

I've noticed my Swedish friends use "American" words like faucet and candy when speaking English, some even speak with a slight American twang.

Her English has definately improved, in fluidity and accent. Three months here and she's lost a lot of her original accent. I just played back her first audition, compared it to her twitter feed and you can hear the difference.