William Hung
William Hung Hung in St. Cloud, Minnesota in July 2008 Chinese name 孔慶翔 (traditional) Chinese name 孔庆翔 (simplified) Pinyin Kǒng Qìngxiáng (Mandarin) Jyutping Hung2 Hing3 Cheung4 (Cantonese) Born (1983-01-13) January 13, 1983 (age 32) Hong Kong Occupation Civil engineering university student, singer, actor, technical crime analyst Genre(s) Pop Label(s) Koch Years active 2004–2011 This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hung. William James Hung (born January 13, 1983), also known as Hung Hing Cheong, is a Hong Kong-born American singer who gained fame in early 2004 as a result of his off-key audition performance of Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the television series American Idol. At the time of his audition, Hung was a civil engineering student at UC Berkeley. After his spirited audition to be the next American Idol inadvertently won the support of many fans, Hung voluntarily left college to pursue a music career. He became popular enough to perform on many popular shows, and even secured a record contract with Koch Entertainment in 2004, releasing three albums on the label. His recording career was marked by constant negative critical reaction, and his fame became the subject of much controversy as both he and his fans were accused of promoting and endorsing racial stereotypes against Asians, as he was perceived to lack musical talent and be celebrated only for embodying these stereotypes. In spite of the criticism and the implications of his success, he only showed signs of thoroughly enjoying his celebrity, believing he was living his dream. He brought his own career as a musician to an end when in 2011 he accepted a job opportunity as a technical crime analyst, and decided to pursue law enforcement instead of music. Since then, Hung has reflected positively on his pop music career.