William Hung

William Hung (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔) (born January 13, 1983) is a Chinese American college student who gained fame and notoriety in early 2004 as a result of his audition performance of Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the television series American Idol, Season 3.

Cult following

Hung rapidly gained a cult following around the world. A William Hung fan site (http://www.williamhung.net), set up by realtor Don Chin and his wife Laura, recorded over four million hits within its first week. Hung subsequently appeared as a guest on a number of television programs including On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Tonight, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dateline NBC, and CBS's The Early Show. He was also featured in numerous magazines and newspapers nationwide and parodied on Saturday Night Live. He was reportedly invited to perform at the MTV Asia Awards held in mid-February. Remixes of his performance topped song request lists at a few radio stations. An online petition to get Hung back on the show claimed more than 100,000 signatures by late February.

Related Topics:
On Air with Ryan Seacrest - Entertainment Tonight - Countdown with Keith Olbermann - The Ellen DeGeneres Show - Dateline NBC - CBS - The Early Show - Saturday Night Live - MTV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season special titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented, which aired March 1, 2004. The special documented what it was like to go through the audition process and, in Hung's case, emerge as an inadvertent celebrity. There is a degree of irony in the situation, as Hung has become more prominent in the public eye and modern culture than most other previous American Idol contestants.

Related Topics:
March 1 - 2004 - Irony

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~