BERKELEY IDOL: American Idol contestant William Hung says that his brief appearance on national television and his failed singing audition has brought on overwhelming attention.

Civil engineer overwhelmed with fame after American Idol appearance

William Hung is Berkeley’s newest celebrity. The CEE junior has been overwhelmed with national and international media attention since his two-minute appearance on the television show American Idol.

After his February 10 appearance on a show that hunts for America’s next singing sensation, Hung’s life has changed. The show broadcast Hung’s audition of She Bangs by Ricky Martin and his subsequent humiliation at the hands of one of the notoriously mean judges.

“You can't sing, you can't dance, so what are you going to say?" asked Simon Cowell.

"I already gave my best, and thus I have no regrets at all,” answered Hung.
Hung’s confident, positive response was a stark contrast to the typical angry, combative retorts of past participants. His upbeat attitude in the face of brutal rejection wowed America. While Hung lost his chance to become the next American idol, he inadvertently captured the title of American sweetheart.

Since the show aired he’s been pursued by local media, mentioned on Saturday Night Live and received interview requests from as far away as Iceland. Currently, Hung is considering an invitation to appear on national television on “The Regis and Kelly Show.”

A fan in cyberspace created a Web site dedicated to Hung, which has attracted more than 4 million visitors. You can even download his performance on music file sharing servers along with Ricky Martin’s original rendition.

How is he managing school work and fame? Not very well, says Hung.

“This attention makes it hard to concentrate. I’m very behind right now because of the distractions,” he says.

Balancing coursework and sudden fame has turned Hung into a multitasker. He agreed to fit in an Engineering News interview as he rushed from class to lunch at the dining hall.

Along the way a group of visiting junior high school students recognized Hung and began to scream and point. One of them imitated his performance of She Bangs. Hung stood by graciously and smiled.

“What are you going to do? You have to be polite,” he shrugs.

Hung is not bitter about the harsh criticism he received and he is not letting it deter him from pursuing a singing career.
“I’ve taken the criticism well. It wasn’t the end of the world that I didn’t win. There were 70,000 losers and only one winner in this contest,” he says.

Hung’s love of singing stems from a childhood spent singing karaoke in his native Hong Kong. Two years ago he won the UC Berkeley Clark Kerr talent show with the same rendition of She Bangs. That’s when his aspiration to become a professional singer was born.

“I realized then that singing was something I wanted to do for a living and that I liked it more than engineering,” says Hung.

Since then, Hung has taken singing classes and joined the Chinese Choir. He is also working on getting rid of his singing accent.

Hung views his engineering degree as something practical to fall back on if singing doesn’t work out. But even his engineering goals are lofty.

“I want to help fix the air pollution problem in L.A.,” he says.

For more go to www.williamhung.net

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