William Hung

My kids were over at the weekend and as such I was compelled to stay in and watch TV for once. I was thus privileged to watch such classics as Tracy Beaker, Malcolm in the Middle and the Inimitable- Sponge Bob Square Pants (In all honesty, I confess to being a closet Sponge-Bob fan and one day shall take out formal membership using my son's name).

By sheer coincidence I stumbled on American Idol - on ITV (the musical talent show). A glitzy, commercial hype-fest (though with some undeniable talent). At some stage a Geriatric Record Industry Mogul - Clive Davis came up on stage to accept a lifetime achievement award (which of course had nothing to do with the fact that his company BMG/Arista owns the American Idol Production Company, an objective award or what?)

Anyway he goes on to extol the virtues of the American Idol Format in his acceptance speech, which was expressed purely in terms of blah, blah millions sold in 2003, 2004 and so on and so forth. Mentioning the names of all the Artistes responsible for the sales (lets forget that he fails to mention the rationale which is to expose talent).

One notable omission from his list of achievers is the great William Hung. Big Willy is a Hong Kong native who shot to fame on American Idol for his endearing and all conquering hopelessness. Mr Hung's performance of Ricky Martin's "She bangs" has exploded into the American consciousness as Eddie the Eagle's heroics and Jade Goodie's gormlessness have here in the UK, with considerable financial success for all the culprits. His pitiful yet lovable performance brought dubious but considerable success in America with subsequent performances at several events and appearances on the Talk show circuit (Leno, Ellen etc). In my memory stands his introduction to a show- "he's live!, he's hung, its William Hung!

William Hung is now a cultural icon whether we like it or not, hence I cannot fathom his omission from Clive Davis' speech, I was mortally offended. No one remembers any of the winner's of that contest, however we remember William and can other contestant claim to be (ehm..) bigger than Hung in the eyes of the American public. I challenge any takers.

On a serious note, you can't help but admire such an honest, lovable chap, to me he's more of a winner than some of the plastic flowers with fake tans/hair and smiles that are the fare of the musical industry. I like his words, "I only gave my best I have no regrets at all". That to me is the magic he has to offer. I confess to being a convert to The Cult of the Hung (take that in anyway you want, I really don't care).

I have added a link to William's website.

http://www.williamhung.net