It was the performance that launched a million Web hits. Arms waving mechanically and hips swaying awkwardly to and fro, William Hung belted out a tone-deaf version of Ricky Martin's hit She Bangs on a show viewed by millions of Americans. When told that he was utterly without talent, the unapologetic Hung said: 'I already gave my best. I have no regrets at all.'
The worldwide fame that followed the two-minute ditty in January was a fluke made possible only in an age of global media saturation and self-conscious irony. But where it would have been expected that the phenomenon would lose steam within months, it shows no signs of abating. The Websites dedicated to him are still going strong and only recently, he beat Britney Spears to land on the Forbes 100 celebrity rankings, coming in at number 96.
His Asian tour, kicking off with a casino appearance in Macau yesterday, includes a well-supported concert in Singapore and filming for a Hong Kong-produced movie.
Not bad for a guy who 'looks like a beaver and sings like a saw', in the estimation of one Singaporean newspaper writer.
Amid all this, the would-be entertainer still manages to seem unflappable and even a touch naive. He says he is taking time off from his studies as an engineering student to pursue his fledgling career, and would not mind singing with the top stars of Canto-pop. It is not exactly modesty that lies behind such comments.
For Hung, the fame and the travel are probably good fun for now.
As for fortune, the public has no way of telling because his father, who is also his manager, has never revealed what Hung is being paid for his appearances.
