Immigrant of the Day: William Hung (Hong Kong)

William Hung (born January 13, 1983) gained fame in 2004 as a result of his performance of Ricky Martin’s hit song “She Bangs” on the third season of the television series American Idol. (Watch it here). Hung gained fame because of the novelty derived from his lack of talent. Originally from Hong Kong, Hung moved to New Jersey in 1993 and graduated from the John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. He attended UC Berkeley, but after getting a record deal after his American Idol performance, Hung dropped out from UC Berkeley. He currently attends Pasadena City College.

After appearing on American Idol. Hung rapidly gained a cult following. A William Hung fan site recorded over four million hits within its first week. Hung subsequently appeared on several television programs including Entertainment Tonight, The Late Show With David Letterman, The Howard Stern Radio Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dateline NBC, and CBS’s The Early Show. Hung was featured in several national magazines and newspapers; he was parodied on Saturday Night Live and appeared on Celebrity Deathmatch. An online petition to get Hung back to American Idol included more than 100,000 signatures. Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season specia in March 2004. Hung has become more famous than many American Idol contestants and he has many fans.

Hung’s first single was a cover of The Village People’s “YMCA.”  His debut album Inspiration includes covers of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” and “Shake Your Bon Bon” and Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” The album has sold approximately 200,000 copies and peaked in the top 50 of the U.S. Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. Several of Hung’s songs reached the top 10 on Apple’s iTunes charts, and the album reached #3 on Amazon.com’s sales rankings. Hung released a Christmas album, Hung for the Holidays, in 2004 and Miracle: Happy Summer from William Hung in 2005.

KJ