William Hung Biography
William Hung is a Hong Kong Singer, actor and motivational speaker. He was born on January 13, 1983 in Sha Tin, British Hong Kong. He is famously known for his unsuccessful audition performance of Ricky Martin’s hit song “She Bangs” on the third season of the television series American Idol in early 2004.
Hung was a civil engineering student at UC Berkeley at the time of his audition. After his spirited audition to be the next American Idol, he won many fans, ironically, based on his perceived lack of musical talent.
10 Quick Facts About William Hung
- Name: William Hung
- Age: 39 years
- Birthday: January 13, 1983
- Zodiac Sign: Capricon
- Nationality: Hong Kong
- Occupation: Singer, actor, motivational speaker
- Marital Status: Married
- Salary: To be updated
- Net worth: $600,000
William Hung Age
William Hung is 39 years old as of 2022, and was born on January 13, 1983 in Sha Tin, British Hong Kong. He celebrates his birthday on January 13 every year and his birth sign is Capricon. On April 7, 2016, he made a surprise performance of “She Bangs” on the American Idol season 15 finale at the age of 33.
William Hung Height and Weight
William stands at a height of 1.68m. He is quite tall if his photos are anything to go by. His weight is 70 kgs and other body measurements are currently unavailable and will be updated as soon as possible.
William Hung Family, Parents and Siblings
William is the son of a Asian parents, his mother Stella Hung and father Henry Hung. He is 39 years old as of 2022, and was born on January 13, 1983 in Sha Tin, British Hong Kong. He is known to have a sibling. At the moment, we do not have the exact details of his parents and siblings but we will update this section when the information is available.
William Hung Wife, Dating and Children
William was married to Jian Teng. The two tied the knot on June 18, 2014 but later got divorced. He is known to have had one more previous marriage. At the moment, we do not have more details of his current romantic life and children but we will update this section when the information is available.
William Hung Net Worth and Salary
William has an estimated net worth of $600,000 dollars as of 2022. This includes his assets, money and income. His primary source of income was his career as a Singer, actor and motivational speaker. Through his various sources of income, he has been able to accumulate a good fortune. At the moment, we do not have the exact salary but we will update this section when the information is available.
William Hung Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about William.
William Hung Wiki
- Full Names: William Hung
- Popular As: William
- Gender: Male
- Occupation / Profession: Singer, actor and motivational speaker.
- Nationality: Hong Kong
- Race / Ethnicity: Asian
- Religion: To be Updated
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
William Hung Birthday
- Age: 39 years old
- Zodiac Sign: Capricon
- Date of Birth: January 13, 1983
- Place of Birth: Sha Tin, British Hong Kong
- Birthday: January 13
William Hung Body Measurements
- Height / How Tall?: 1.63m
- Weight: 70 kgs
- Eye Color: To be Updated
- Hair Color: To be Updated
- Shoe Size: To be Updated
William Hung Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Henry Hung
- Mother: Stella Hung
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): To be Updated
- Marital Status: Married
- Dating / Girlfriend: Jian Teng
- Children: To be Updated
William Hung Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth: $600,000
- Salary: To be Updated
- Source of Income: To be Updated
William Hung House and Cars
Because of security reasons,his house location is undiscosed. However,this information will be uploaded once in our possesion. He is presumed to drive nice cars if his networth is anything to go by.
William Hung Career and Music
While studying civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, William auditioned for the third season of American Idol in San Francisco in September 2003, becoming the final auditioner on the show of January 15, 2004.
“I want to make music my living,” said Hung, before he started singing and dancing to Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”. As judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul tried to restrain their laughter, judge Simon Cowell dismissed Hung’s performance, remarking “You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want me to say?”, to which Hung replied, “Um, I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all.” Jackson and Abdul applauded his positive attitude, with Abdul remarking, “That’s the best attitude yet.” Hung’s response to Cowell’s criticism starkly contrasts with the often confrontational rejoinders of other contestants. Hung added, “…you know, I have no professional training of singing and dancing,” eliciting mock surprise from Cowell, who replied, “No? Well, this is the surprise of the century.” Hung was not admitted through to the next round.
Huge following
Hung rapidly gained a cult following. A William Hung fan site, set up by realtor Don Chin and his wife Laura, recorded over four million hits within its first week. Remixes of Hung’s audition performance topped song request lists at a number of radio stations.
Hung subsequently appeared on several television programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Tonight, George Lopez, the Late Show with David Letterman, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Radio Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dateline NBC, Arrested Development and CBS’s The Early Show. Hung was featured in several national magazines and newspapers; he was parodied on Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Celebrity Deathmatch, and The Fairly OddParents. He was reportedly invited to perform at MTV’s Asia Awards held in mid-February.
Hung performing at UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion in 2004.
An online petition to bring Hung back to American Idol included more than 100,000 signatures by late February. Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season special titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented, airing March 1, 2004. The special documented what it was like to experience the audition process and, in Hung’s case, emerge as an inadvertent celebrity.
At the 2006 Artichoke Festival in Castroville, California, Hung was crowned the Artichoke King; Marilyn Monroe had previously received a similar honor.
Record deal
William Hung was offered a $25,000 advance on a record deal from Koch Entertainment in 2004, and released three albums on that label in 2004 and 2005. His first album was Inspiration. Produced by Giuseppe D, it was recorded over a March 2004 weekend with Hung singing vocals over karaoke music. To promote it, Hung performed before nearly 20,000 fans during half-time at a Golden State Warriors basketball game on April 6 and performed “She Bangs”, included on the album, on such shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The album received highly negative reviews, but ultimately went on to sell about 200,000 copies and reached Number One on Billboard’s Top Independent Album Chart. His two follow-up albums were far less successful, as Hung for the Holidays (a Christmas album) only sold 35,000 copies, despite a national promotion campaign including appearances on The Howard Stern Show, and Miracle: Happy Summer from William Hung (another karaoke cover album) only sold 7,000. In a February 2006 interview, he said he was working on a fourth album of 5 or 6 tracks, but none was released, and he retired in 2011.
Television, commercials and movies
Hung appeared in commercials for the search engine Ask.com, the Game Show Network (spoofing Freddie Mercury and singing an off-key “We Are the Champions”), as well as the mobile phone service provider Cingular Wireless. He also appeared to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in May 2004 at the Rogers Centre for the Toronto Blue Jays.
His first movie, a low-budget Hong Kong period comedy called Where is Mama’s Boy (2004), was released in January 2005. Hung played a good-natured village kid who sells Chinese pancakes to pay his mother’s medical bills. His character gets discovered as a singer, and helps a woman protect her business from her jealous, conniving elder sister. In the film, Hung played opposite veteran Hong Kong actress Nancy Sit and parodied his own American Idol performance with the song “Siu Beng” (Cantonese) (“Chinese Pancake”), an allusion to his American Idol audition song, “She Bangs”. Despite solid financial backing and the involvement of Nancy Sit, the film was a box office flop.
Lampooning his own career, Hung later made appearances in Airline, Arrested Development, and George Lopez.
Retirement from music
In 2011, Hung became a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,[10] and retired from music. Hung remains optimistic about his new career path, and states he does not regret that his music career has ended. “I showed that even the Average Joe could succeed,” he remarked on his short-lived time as a pop star.
Hung later joined the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health around 2014. In 2017, Hung became a motivational speaker; he has been booked as a keynote speaker for groups such as the Asian Realtors Association of America.
On April 7, 2016, he made a surprise performance of “She Bangs” on the American Idol season 15 finale.
Frequently Asked Questions About William Hung
William Hung is a Hong Kong Singer, actor, motivational speaker famously known for his unsuccessful audition performance of Ricky Martin’s hit song “She Bangs” on the third season of the television series American Idol in early 2004.