Independent label wants more awful music from 'HK's Ricky Martin'
The media frenzy surrounding accidental idol William Hung - dubbed the Hong Kong Ricky Martin - has stepped up a gear, with the 21-year-old being awarded a US$25,000 recording contract this week.
Hung became an instant celebrity after butchering Latin idol Ricky Martin's She Bangs during an audition for American Idol, the hit US television show. He was flayed by the judges, who told him he could neither sing nor dance, but he retained his poise and told them: 'I already gave my best. I have no regrets at all.'
The former Sha Tin resident and third-year civil engineering student was presented with the cheque and a contract during the half-time show of a college volleyball game, where he performed the song surrounded by cheerleaders and a sizeable media contingent, the college's newspaper reported.
It said the deal was put together by independent music label Koch Records and Fuse Networks, a music-focused cable broadcaster.
'Fuse has a renegade underdog sensibility, and we completely embraced William,' Fuse spokesman Theano Apostolou was quoted as saying.