"Oh, and the really awful singer I referred to was a guy in his early 20s"

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if there were a real upturn in younger performers sparked from the success of young folk bands. I saw a really dishy hip young guy sing at a club a while back myself, though he sang very well in fact! There will no doubt be pants X-Factor wannabe's among them, but I bet the quality will outweigh the dross. Err 'kids' (hark at the old one!) are usually pretty focused and serious about crafting music.