00s internet sensation makes rare TV appearance 20 years after ‘grotesque’ American Idol audition

An American Idol contestant who went viral for his infamous audition made a rare return to the spotlight this morning, 20 years after he first appeared on our screens.

William Hung unwittingly came to fame in 2004 thanks to his attempts to impress judging panel Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson with his vocal talents in season three of the singing competition.

The 42-year-old won hearts all over the world when he proudly belted out an off-key cover of Ricky Martin’s hit, She Bangs, complete with his own signature dance moves.

Unfortunately, Simon wasn’t too thrilled, branding his audition ‘grotesque’ – but he wasn’t bothered by the criticism and vowed that he enjoyed himself, and had ‘no regrets’.

Appearing on Australia’s Today Extra earlier this morning, William’s spirit is still going strong as he shared how ‘wonderful’ it was to turn a ‘negative into a positive’.

The wannabe singer also insisted that he went into the audition completely aware of Simon’s reputation as ‘Mr Nasty’.

‘I expected Simon to be the negative person,’ he told David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys. ‘I watched some shows before I went to audition, and I knew Simon was going to be the mean guy.’

‘Not everything in life will go according to your plan so, to this day I still continue to reinvent myself to use my story and experience to benefit more people,’ he continued.

‘It was so surreal. I never thought that dream [would] finally come true.

‘I feel wonderful that I could turn a negative into a positive.’

William’s life changed when he stepped foot in the American Idol audition room in season three, and quickly became an internet sensation.

‘I sing from my heart,’ he told the judges at the time. ‘I might not be the best singer around the world but I know that I sing from my heart, and I put every bit of energy into it.’

Paula danced through his Ricky Martin rendition while Randy hid behind a sheet of paper – but Simon put a stop to the track earlier than planned.

‘William you did put have everything you had into that, and I love that,’ Paula initially praised. ‘I love that you did that.’

‘I didn’t…,’ Simon interjected. ‘William, it’s one of actually the worst auditions we’ve had this year, if I’m being honest. Seriously. Everything about it was grotesque.

‘You can’t sing, you can’t dance, what do you want me to say?’

‘I already gave my best and I have no regrets at all,’ the hopeful replied, before the music mogul told him to ‘go and do some homework’.

It wasn’t all bad for William, who relished his time in the spotlight and made a string of huge TV appearances – including stints on the Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

He also made his singing dreams come true when he was handed a record contract with Koch Entertainment, dropping three albums.

Despite retiring from music in 2011, William later joined Ricky on stage at the Park MGM in Las Vegas in 2018, where they sang a duet of She Bangs.

‘It was all very surprising,’ he told People Magazine of his brush with fame earlier this year. ‘I didn’t expect that. I had no expectations going in other than thinking that it was going to be fun.

‘In this situation, very few people can stay on top for long.

‘After a little while, I thought, I don’t want to waste my life, so I went back to school, finished my degree and looked for a stable job. That was okay with me. I’d already gotten more out of American Idol than I ever could have expected.’

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