Singing for many years I developed certain personal criteria for myself. Articulation, inflection, volume control and accent-neutrality. Self-awareness is where it starts.
Articulation - Strive to be understood. Absolutely no slurring or mumbling.
Inflection - Coloring the lyrics. Steven Perry and Freddy Mercury were masters. This is where words become artful conveyances of the score.
Volume Control - Don't trail off to an inaudible extent.
Accent-Neutral - The Beatles did not sing in their natural English accent so don't sing their songs in your own southern drawl or, yo...yo... da Bronx don't woik heah. At least make the attempt to achieve an accent neutral voice. Mel Gibson dropped his Australian accent to give himself a broader range of acting possibilities and it paid off for him.
Singing is an aural art form. It's an act to be treated no differently than any visual art form like stage acting or dancing. It's just another form of expression and rendered appropriate to each song with respect to the original artist. Being yourself does not apply unless it's your own music.
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