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In my previous life as a paid promotion site, I got to see any number of companies and sectors pushed and promoted that didn't deserve to be! It seemed that every week I was doing an Oil and Gas Play. Alternative energy plays were very popular...biofuels and solar, too.

American Idol judge Steven Tyler announced that he won't be back for another season of the show. The 64-year old rock icon and frontman of Aerosmith said that his exit after two seasons of judging in the show is because he think "it's time to bring rock back". Tyler said in a statement, "After some long … hard … thoughts … I've decided it's time for me to let go of my mistress 'American Idol' before she boils my rabbit." He explained that his departure from the show is to allow him to focus more on his band, Aerosmith, which has been around for 40 years. His decision makes sense as their band is expected to come out with a new album this fall and also set to go on tour. "I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I'm back - but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I'm kicking the door open with my band." Though it is interesting to note that at the start of his judging gig in American Idol, he said on Black Hawk Mines of his bandmates' reaction, "At first, they were jealous because they heard it through the press and not from me. But four months ago they were looking for another lead singer." Tyler's departure is just one of the changes awaiting the next season as co-judge Jennifer Lopez is still undecided about staying. Since the latest season wrapped up with the smallest ratings, there has been many speculations as to what changes will be done by Fox for the next season - and who will remain as Idol judges. The singing reality show has its sharpest decline in ratings last season, which was 30% or 21 million viewers compared to its peak in 2003 with 38 million, sending warning signals on the network. Looks like the only sure thing about the Idol series is its host, Ryan Seacrest, who renewed his contract for 2 years for USD 15 million.

Whitney Houston, along with the late Michael Jackson, has helped in paving the way for black artists to utilize mainstream media and gain global support in the music industry. The cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Houston shot into international fame after her discovery in the 80s. In 1992, she got married to another artist, Bobby Brown, who seem to have the opposite upbringing than her. However, her career made a turn for the bad after her marriage. During the late 90′s, she was already notorious for cancellations of appearances, late arrivals and no-shows. Rumors started to circulate that she was doing drugs with her husband. Houston was arrested in 2002 for having marijuana but during a prime-time TV interview, she denied ever having or using drugs. Houston's marriage ended in 2007 and she entered a rehab for drug use. But she admitted herself that her drug use was not halted even after finishing the rehab program. After 2 years, Houston launched a comeback album (after seven years), 'I Look To You' and promoted it during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But as the events of the past several years have proven, rehab had not been effective for Houston as opposed to how it had redeemed Robert Downey Jr. Recently, people are speculating that her fall from fame has dried out her fortune. Having no planned albums in the future, her only comeback appearance was the film Sparkle which will be released in August. She played a supporting role alongside singer Jordin Sparks - her first in almost 6 years. There were also rumors that Houston was one of the possible choices as a judge in the singing competition, 'The X Factor' but those were flatly denied by Simon Cowell. Just hours into the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Houston was found dead in her hotel room with the cause of death remaining unknown. Coroner's officials are not going to release details regarding the autopsy on Sunday due to the request of investigators. In fact, the