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’Net Junkie Shawn "Speedy" Lopes |
From ‘Idol’ chump
to cult celebrityAs Andy Warhol once predicted, "In the future, everybody will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Only a scant few, however, have actually savored the sweet nectar of international stardom as has William Hung, the vocally and rhythmically challenged "American Idol" contestant from this year's San Francisco auditions.
The 21-year-old Hong Kong-born, University of California-Berkeley civil engineering major has unwittingly parlayed an astonishingly putrid performance into cult celebrity status. One Web site in particular, williamhung.net, has received unbelievable feedback, garnering more than 7 million hits in a matter of weeks.
Adoring e-mails from fans around the world have poured in, many from enamored females who found themselves charmed by Hung's spirited performance. Through a loony, ungainly rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs," it seems, Will Hung has become Planet Earth's unlikeliest sex symbol. "You have touched my heart and ruled my mind," writes Marianne of Singapore. "He's SUPER cute," expresses 17-year-old Ashlei Jane of Washington. "I can't stop thinking about him," adds Jing, 15, of California.
Apparently, music producers can't get enough of him either, as evidenced by several "She Bangs" remixes created by inventive digital tunesmiths who transformed snippets of Hung's TV performance into infectious dance tracks.
Visitors to williamhung.net are treated to a video of a Will Hung concert at UC-Berkeley, in which the accidental pop phenom, upon picking up his microphone, is instantly greeted with a chorus of cheers. As Hung reaches the song's chorus, the crowd accompanies him as if he were Ricky Martin himself, singing, "She bangs! She bangs! Oh baby! When she moves, she moves! I go crazy!" at the top of their lungs.
Also on display at the Web site are links to a feature on Hung from "Entertainment Tonight," a write-up in the San Francisco Chronicle and a video clip of a Hung parody on "Saturday Night Live," as well as the ultimate sign of Hung's arrival -- a T-shirt emblazoned with a personal quote taken from his TV audition. "I already gave my best," it reads. "I have no regrets at all."
Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.
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’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.
