Several former contestants were invited back for the 20th anniversary episode of American Idol’s “The Great Idol Reunion,” including William Hung, 39, who rose to fame in 2004 for his off-key rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs.” .
On Monday, the show’s host Ryan Seacrest began the segment by saying, “I can’t help but feel like someone is missing the party.”
He introduced the next guest as “someone who helped put this show on the map, dare I say, the legend, whose very name is synonymous with American Idol.”
Hung then took to the stage, wearing his shirt tucked into a pair of pants and his hair slicked to one side, and sang his trademark off-key cover while thrusting his hips from side to side to the beat of the music.
Hung catapulted to fame after his hearing as a 20 year old engineering student. Judge Simon Cowell at the time considered him one of the worst singers he had ever seen, to which Hung innocently replied, “I have no professional training in singing.”
After his unsuccessful but memorable audition, Hung acted on various talk shows and appeared in commercials.
In an interview with Joe Rogan in 2020, comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang revealed who had turned down an offer to star in a William Hung biopic.
He shared that he had “read all 115 pages of [the] script” and confessed that he had “never been so angry reading a script” before. He described wanting to “throw up”.
Yang also told Rogan that Hung “put us [Asians] like 10 years ago,” claiming that Hung was intentionally chosen by the producers of “American Idol” for laughs.
Yang noted that there were so few Asian actors in the entertainment industry that playing a role also included thinking about the ramifications of a role and whether it portrayed Asians in a positive or negative light.
“It’s hard being one of the few Asian actors,” he told Rogan, adding that he couldn’t just look at a script, but also had to “think about the cultural ramifications…is this a good portrayal?”
“There are very few of us, each one of us who does something means much more,” Yang explained.
Yang expressed that he encountered problems with Hung as a representative of Asians, with his thick accent, high-waisted pants, and clumsiness.
“William Hung is the exact opposite of Bruce Lee,” Yang said, referring to the martial arts star.
After Hung’s performance on Monday, Seacrest explained how Hung had become a “viral video” before the term was coined.
“You’re a motivational speaker now,” Seacrest said, “What are you talking about?”
“I tell people that I think everyone has the right to try something new without being judged or ridiculed,” Hung replied.
“That’s a great message,” Seacrest concluded, as the crowd clapped loudly.
Other former Idol attendees included Ruben Studdard, David Archueleta and Jordin Sparks, who became the show’s youngest winner at 16 in 2007.
Featured Image via american idol
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Reference-news.yahoo.com