Is my Asian accent getting in the way of singing..?

[MrSomber]

Hey guys,

For a few years now I've been just singing random songs for fun but lately I wanted to get a little more serious with it. However, I honestly hate my voice. There's something about it that makes me think its nasally and too "pure", with no quality to it. Yet whatever I do to get rid of it, it sounds unnatural and forced. I'm also beginning to think the whole problem has to do with my Asian (specifically, Vietnamese) accent and how I enunciate words. There's also this tone about my voice that I see in a lot of other Asians as well. I know it may sound stereotypical but I feel it's like how one can tell if it's a white or black person singing. I think I'm referring to timbre?

Here's a voice clip of me singing an R&B song by Chris Brown called "With You":

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1LwVtudSTMg

Its quality pretty bad...and my singing is probably too. I recorded it while driving lol and I know I have pitch problems but I don't think that's necessarily related to my singing technique.

I'd really love to hear what you guys have to say. I want to be at least decent enough to sing without sounding so ridiculous. Thank you

[MrSomber]

Hey thanks for the advice. I'm aware of this "singer's accent" thing, but I find it hard to nail down properly. I guess I have to practice more.

I feel like if I compress my voice to make it a solid tone, it would get too nasally or lack good "thickness" to it. I want to emulate an airy kind of breath because it's what I like hearing when I listen to others. I know it sounds I'm forcing my voice rather than developing my own, but I think I can do it without causing damage to my vocal chords.

Again, thanks a lot. I'd love to hear some more replies.