About

William Hung was a civil engineering major from the University of California, Berkeley, who auditioned on the third season of American Idol. His atrocious singing, contrasting his gung-ho attitude, caused his performance to go viral, eventually landing him a record deal and various commercial appearances.

Origin

Hung’s audition was the last aired of the San Francisco auditions on the January 15, 2004 episode of American Idol. After telling the judges, “I want to make music my living,” Hung started a poor rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs.” Judge Simon Cowell soon stopped Hung. With his trademark condescension, Cowell asked Hung, “You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want me to say?” Hung’s response, “I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all,” impressed the other two judges, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Nevertheless, Hung was eliminated from the competition.