who embarrassed herself in front of Victoria Beckham. But
long before Stephanie took the stage for the seventh time in
2010, William Hung appeared during the third season of the
show to do a rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs.”
“I want to make music my living,” he told the cameras
moments before appearing before the judges.
At five-foot-six, wearing a blue button-up shirt with
pictures of assorted shoes on it and sporting an overbite,
William didn’t look like the kind of person destined for the
spotlight. Not unlike Stephanie’s, his performance was
underwhelming to the judges, who tried to hide their
laughter while he moved his hips and sang off-key.
“You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want
me to say?” Simon asked.
“I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all,”
William said, his response contrasting with the typical
confrontational responses the judges were accustomed to
receiving. Then he added with pride, “You know, I have no
professional training of singing and dancing.”
To which Simon responded, “No? Well, there’s the
surprise of the century.”^23
In the end, it didn’t work out for William and he was
sent home like so many others. But something strange
happened after that. Long before “going viral” became the
phenomenon it is today, William Hung’s audition video
started racking up thousands, and then millions, of views on
YouTube. Instead of people laughing at him, they cheered.
A fan set up a site in his honor, and in the first week it