Singer William Hung
Hong Kong-born William Hung, 23, rose to a kind of fame in America thanks to his legendary performance of “She Bangs” on American Idol last year. Sure he didn’t make it to the finals, but his performance amused some 200 million viewers around the globe and scored him a record deal, which yielded four (!) albums. With his mother sitting behind him, Hung told Victor Chau about his long road to success.
People laugh at my nerdy look. But that’s my style. I don’t care if people laugh at me or not because everyone takes me differently. I just want to be myself.
I already gave my best, and 'I have no regrets at all. This is the quote that made me famous. It just came out of my head. I didn’t rehearse that before the competition.
The contestants don’t usually make it to the finals anyway, and I didn’t feel bad about losing. I don’t consider myself a loser. It’s already very difficult to get to that stage anyway.
Losing the competition isn’t the end of the world anyway – it may even be a shortcut to success.
I was a bit surprised to become a celebrity. But I have only my fans to thank for that. Although my fan base is in the US, I’m also very grateful to those in Hong Kong. I still get a lot of support from Asia.
I enjoy fame. I like to entertain people and make others happy. I walk outside and people ask me if I was the “She Bangs” guy. Some people don’t remember my name.