For some reason the past few years seems to have thrown up a number of female singers with good voices and the capacity to rise above the pretty limited material most of them seem to be given, while very few new male singers of any quality are coming forward. I don't pretend to be an expert on the current music scene, so it is possible the 'new' singers I'm talking about have been around for years. That is certainly the case for a couple of bands I have belatedly come across. Natalie Merchant, for example, the singer with a group called 10,000 Maniacs (now gone), and Samantha Sprackling (Saffron) singer with Republica both appear to have musical ability and a good voice.
Other female singers I have noted include Sharlene Spiteri (Texas), Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Cerys Mathews (Catatonia), the rather delectable Beyonce, Beverly Knight and Miss Dynamite. Also worth listening to if you come across her is Heather Small, formerly of M People. All these women have traditionally good voices, with distinctive timbre and seem to have the capacity to do more than simply carry a tune.
I think (hope) this is more than an aging rocker's fascination with attractive young women, although I have to admit that watching Beyonce on TV is an altogether more pleasant prospect than watching Mick Hucknall. 
In case you think I'm overstating things, it is worth looking out an album by Larry Adler of Gershwin songs,'The Glory of Gershwin" where you will find all sorts of people - including Meatloaf and Bon Jovi! - making pretty good jobs of a range of Gershwin songs. By contrast, Ella Fitzgerald's first recording 'A Tisket A Tasket' was by any measure a pretty trivial piece that gave no real hint of the majestic career ahead.
My point, if there is one, is simply that there seems to be a good range of musical talent available amongst the current crop of female singers, but the obsession with rap has either prevented or is obscuring the male equivalents.
