William Hung facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Hung
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| 孔慶翔 | |||||||||||
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Hung in St. Cloud, Minnesota in July 2008
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| Born | November 10, 1982 |
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| Alma mater | Marist College (MBA) California State University, Northridge (BA) University of California, Berkeley (no degree) Pasadena City College |
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| Occupation | Singer, actor, motivational speaker | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Jian Teng (divorced) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 孔慶翔 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 孔庆翔 | ||||||||||
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| Musical career | |||||||||||
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Genres | Pop, outsider music | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2004–2011 | ||||||||||
| Labels | Koch | ||||||||||
William Hing Cheung Hung (born November 10, 1982) is a motivational speaker and former singer. He was born in Hong Kong and later became an American citizen.
William Hung became famous in 2004 after he auditioned for the TV show American Idol. He sang "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin. Even though his audition was not successful, he gained many fans because of his positive attitude. At the time, he was a student studying engineering. He later left college to try a music career. His music was not always praised by critics.
In 2011, William Hung stopped being a musician. He started working as a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He decided to work in law enforcement. Since then, he has often spoken positively about his time as a pop music star.
Contents
About William Hung
William Hung is a very distant relative of Confucius, a famous Chinese teacher and philosopher.
He grew up in Sha Tin, which was part of British Hong Kong at the time. When he was 11, his family moved to Los Angeles, California, in the United States. He studied civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. After his music career, he went back to school. He earned a degree in mathematics from California State University, Northridge. Later, he also got a master's degree in business from Marist College.
William Hung was married to Jian Teng. This marriage later ended.
William Hung's Career
Becoming Famous
In September 2003, while he was a student, William Hung tried out for the third season of American Idol. His audition was shown on TV in January 2004.
Before he sang, Hung said, "I want to make music my living." Then, he started singing and dancing to Ricky Martin's song "She Bangs." Two of the judges, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, tried not to laugh. The third judge, Simon Cowell, told Hung, "You can't sing, you can't dance, so what do you want me to say?"
William Hung replied, "Um, I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all." Jackson and Abdul liked his positive attitude. Abdul even said, "That's the best attitude yet." Hung also mentioned that he had no professional training in singing or dancing. Simon Cowell acted surprised, saying, "No? Well, this is the surprise of the century." William Hung did not make it to the next round of the competition.
His Fans
After his audition, William Hung quickly gained many fans. People loved his positive spirit. A fan website for him received over four million visits in its first week. Many radio stations played remixes of his audition performance.
William Hung appeared on many TV shows. These included Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Late Show with David Letterman. He was also featured in magazines and newspapers. Other TV shows like Saturday Night Live and Mad TV made fun of his performance in a playful way.
Many fans signed an online petition to bring him back to American Idol. Over 100,000 people signed it. Because of this, Hung returned to American Idol for a special show. This special showed what it was like to audition and become famous by accident.
In 2006, William Hung was named the Artichoke King at a festival in Castroville, California. Famous people like Marilyn Monroe had received this honor before him.
Music Albums
In 2004, William Hung was offered a record deal. He released three albums between 2004 and 2005. His first album was called Inspiration. It was recorded quickly in March 2004. To promote it, Hung performed at a Golden State Warriors basketball game. He also sang "She Bangs" on shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Even though critics did not like the album much, it sold about 200,000 copies. It even reached number one on a chart for independent albums.
His next two albums did not sell as well. Hung for the Holidays was a Christmas album. Miracle: Happy Summer from William Hung was another album of cover songs. In 2006, he mentioned working on a fourth album, but it was never released. He stopped making music in 2011.
TV, Commercials, and Movies
William Hung appeared in commercials for companies like Ask.com and Cingular Wireless. He also sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at a baseball game in Toronto.
His first movie was a comedy from Hong Kong called Where is Mama's Boy (2004). It came out in January 2005. In the movie, Hung played a kind village boy who sells Chinese pancakes to help his mother. His character becomes a singer and helps a woman protect her business. In the film, Hung made fun of his own American Idol audition. He sang a song called "Siu Beng" (Chinese Pancake), which was a funny reference to "She Bangs." Even with good support, the movie was not a big success.
William Hung also appeared on TV shows like Airline, Arrested Development, and George Lopez. He often made fun of his own career in these appearances.
Leaving Music
After trying to teach high school math for a short time, William Hung changed careers in 2011. He became a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He decided to stop making music. William Hung feels good about his new career path. He says he does not regret that his music career ended. He once said about his time as a pop star, "I showed that even the Average Joe could succeed."
Around 2014, Hung started working for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In 2017, he became a motivational speaker. He has given speeches to groups like the Asian Realtors Association of America.
William Hung made surprise appearances on the American Idol season 15 finale in 2016 and the American Idol season 20 in 2022. He sang "She Bangs" both times.
Images for kids
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Hung in St. Cloud, Minnesota in July 2008
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Hung performing at UC Berkeley's Haas Pavilion in 2004.
See also
In Spanish: William Hung para niños
- Fernando Villares - a Mexican singer with a similar music career
