william hung, pt. 1

Summary

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) – Episode: William Hung, Pt. 1

Release Date: November 5, 2024

Host: Jamie Loftus, Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the sixteenth episode of "Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)," host Jamie Loftus delves into the captivating story of William Hung, an American Idol contestant whose brief moment in the spotlight has left a lasting impact on reality television and internet culture. This episode explores William's unexpected rise to fame, the media's portrayal of him, and the enduring legacy he holds as a symbol of both aspiration and mockery in the early 2000s.

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American Idol’s Debut and William Hung’s Audition

Jamie Loftus begins by setting the scene of American Idol’s inaugural season in 2002, highlighting its competition with other major TV shows of the time such as "Frasier," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Smallville." The show quickly became a ratings juggernaut, with its format inspired by the UK's "Pop Idol" and managed by producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe.

Notable Quote:

Jamie Loftus [04:00]: "American Idol's path to being on American primetime TV was not smooth. The format was cribbed from popular talent shows from overseas, but Rupert Murdoch wasn't sure it would play in the US."

William Hung, a civil engineering student at UC Berkeley, auditioned for American Idol in 2003 with Ricky Martin’s "She Bangs." His performance, characterized by his enthusiastic but off-key rendition and unconventional dance moves, quickly became one of the most memorable auditions in the show's history.

Notable Quote:

William Hung [07:02]: "I'm warning you now, you are about to enter the audition from hell whether..."

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Media and Internet Response

William’s audition was edited into a concise, impactful segment that emphasized his lack of traditional singing talent, juxtaposed with the more polished performances of other contestants like Kelly Clarkson. This portrayal fueled both sympathy and ridicule, making him a viral sensation long before the advent of platforms like YouTube.

Notable Quote:

Jamie Loftus [28:04]: "We meet William, we learn he's an engineering student and we see him bomb... But that's a lot to happen in the space of a minute."

The internet played a crucial role in amplifying William’s fame, with fan sites like billyhung.com advocating for his success and others like savewilliamhung.com mocking his performance. This duality showcased the early 2000s internet culture, where earnest fan support and ironic trolling coexisted.

Notable Quote:

Jamie Loftus [35:49]: "We have one more act for you this evening."

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Early Career: Albums and Performances

Capitalizing on his newfound fame, William released his debut album "Inspiration" in April 2004, followed by subsequent albums including a Christmas collection and "Happy Summer." His performances extended beyond TV, featuring appearances at events like Wango Tango and commercials for brands such as Jack in the Box and Singular Wireless.

Notable Quote:

William Hung [46:20]: "Yes, it is."

Despite poor reviews, his albums achieved modest commercial success, driven largely by his unique appeal and the viral nature of his auditions.

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Personal Challenges and Career Changes

As the initial buzz faded, William faced challenges balancing his academic pursuits with his entertainment career. He ventured into teaching but encountered difficulties, leading to a return to academic studies and eventual roles in data analysis with the LA County Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Public Health.

Notable Quote:

William Hung [57:08]: "I think it'll be awesome because if I can do that like some of the tournament professionals, I get to travel across the world, do charity like you. That'd be fantastic."

Additionally, William grappled with a gambling addiction that impacted his personal life, including his first marriage. His resilience shone through as he sought recovery and continued to maintain a public presence through interviews and occasional performances.

Notable Quote:

William Hung [57:44]: "But then I got greedy."

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Interview with William Hung

In a candid interview segment, Jamie Loftus speaks directly with William Hung, who reflects on his journey from an unsuspecting engineering student to a pop culture icon. William discusses his motivations, the pressure of sudden fame, and his perspectives on how the media framed his persona.

Notable Quotes:

William Hung [75:03]: "I think American Idol is an amazing platform. So it's not from American Idol. It's the media. Some people on the media decided to twist the story."

William Hung [86:05]: "I don't agree with me portraying Asian stereotypes. That's the most common one I get."

William emphasizes his passion for music and his desire to bring happiness to his fans, despite not possessing conventional singing talent. He also touches on the importance of managing negative criticism and maintaining his mental health amidst public scrutiny.

Notable Quote:

William Hung [78:26]: "I cannot improve myself with, you know, what's the point of listening to it? Just ignore it, put it aside, move on."

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Conclusion and Teaser for Part Two

Jamie Loftus concludes the episode by highlighting William Hung's enduring legacy as a figure who embodies both the potential and pitfalls of reality television fame. She sets the stage for Part Two, which will delve deeper into issues of anti-Asian racism and the broader implications of reality TV's portrayal of individuals like William.

Notable Quote:

Jamie Loftus [96:32]: "The 2000s was a uniquely fucked time for mask off discrimination and exploitation in the public sphere. And I wanted to talk to people who have either worked in that space or lived through it."

Listeners are encouraged to tune in next week for a more profound exploration of William Hung's story and its intersections with societal issues.

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Key Takeaways

• William Hung’s Audition: His enthusiastic but technically flawed performance became a viral phenomenon, symbolizing the unpredictable nature of reality TV fame.

• Media Portrayal: The show's editing and media coverage framed William in a way that emphasized stereotypes, sparking discussions about representation and racism.

• Career and Personal Life: William's journey post-Idol included brief stints in entertainment, teaching, public service, and battling personal challenges like gambling addiction.

• Resilience and Reflection: Despite the challenges, William Hung maintains a positive outlook, focusing on personal growth and supporting others.

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Final Thoughts

"Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)" offers a nuanced look at William Hung's unique place in pop culture history. Through detailed storytelling and insightful interviews, Jamie Loftus paints a comprehensive picture of a man whose brief moment of fame continues to resonate and provoke important conversations about media, representation, and personal resilience.

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This summary captures the essence of the "William Hung, Pt. 1" episode, providing a structured and comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened to the podcast.

Transcript

[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

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[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

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[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

Hollywood, home of the Academy Awards and possibly the most televised theater in the world.

[Jamie Loftus]

Three months from now, live on this very stage, an as yet unknown talent.

[William Hung]

Will be launched into superstardom.

[Jamie Loftus]

We don't know who that is yet. Right now they could be parking cars or even waiting on tables.

[William Hung]

Who knows?

[Jamie Loftus]

What we do know is by the end of the summer, that person's life will change forever. Because you at home decide who will become the next American Idol. It's June 11, 2002, and a new show called American Idol has just debuted on Fox. It was competing with some of the biggest shows of the day, although scripted stuff was in reruns by the summer. To set the scene. Frasier, Scrubs, Girlfriends, Buffy, Smallville, Gilmore Girls, on and on. If you were there, you know. If you don't, you weren't missing out on as much as millennials tell you you were. American Idol's main competition that was airing a new episode was a rival reality show on ABC called the mole.

[William Hung]

Ten strangers playing for up to $1 million. Among them, a saboteur, a traitor, the.

[Jamie Loftus]

Mole, the winner, the one who answers.

[William Hung]

The question, who is the mole?

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, is that Anderson Cooper? Pre CNN yes, it is. And one of the funniest things to me in the world is that Anderson Cooper, iconic Nepo baby says that 911 woke him up and got him to return to centrist news instead of hosting the Mole and the Mole, Season one, unbeatable reality tv. You can watch it online for free. Anyways, American Idol's path to being on American primetime TV was not smooth. The format was cribbed from popular talent shows from overseas, like Pop Idol in the UK and pop stars in New Zealand. And the guys who made these shows had a big hand in bringing it to the US Producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lithgow brought it to the States, but Fox network owner and feminist icon Rupert Murdoch wasn't sure that this would play in the US and the show only made it onto the network because his daughter Elizabeth had seen Pop Idol in the UK and thought that it would Work in America. And boy, did it work. American Idol won the night in ratings when it debuted. 9.9. Viewers tuned in to the Moles. 6.9 and a Frasier rerun's 7.7 million. Excellent showing from Frasier Heads there Scrambled.

[William Hung]

Eggs all over my face.

[Jamie Loftus]

The format of the show would be tweaked many times in the years to come. One of the most major examples is that Ryan Seacrest went on to host idol for over 20 years and Brian Dunkelman quit after a season. Whoops. Pop Idol had four judges, but American Idol only managed to get three to commit in time for the show to start taping. And so we have first up, Grammy.

[William Hung]

Award winner Randy Jackson.

[Jamie Loftus]

I think the main thing really for me is uniqueness. Having a different, unique style, a different.

[William Hung]

Sounding voice and also just having, you know, phenomenal talent. Singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, and pop diva legend Paula Abdul. What'd you think my perspective would be? Absolutely different from the other two judges because I'm an artist. And the acid tongue star of Pop Idol in the uk, Simon Cowell. We are going to tell people who cannot sing and who have no talent that they have no talent, and that.

[Jamie Loftus]

Never makes you popular. We are going to show the audition.

[William Hung]

Process as it really is, because shows.

[Jamie Loftus]

In the past have not shown the brutality of auditions. Auditions are horrible places to go, and.

[William Hung]

I'm warning you now, you are about to enter the audition from hell whether.

[Jamie Loftus]

You were a viewer or not. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell are one of the most iconic millennial pop culture trios ever. They were perfectly calibrated for the early 2000s. Paula was the nice one, Randy was the constructive one, and Simon was evil and sometimes funny. He was evil, and because he was evil, he had a lot of success. The most significant example is less than a decade later. He was one of the inventors of One Direction. Do you understand the level of evil that requires? Simon Cowell was the boy conjurer, and his criticism of singers he thought were bad weren't just cutting. They could get extremely personal and were often what people were talking about the next day, even more so than the performances themselves.

[William Hung]

Yes, you have personality, but dogs have personality. The audition, if I'm being honest with you, was horrible.

[Jamie Loftus]

Here's how the show worked when it aired. Contestants between 16 and 24 years old were encouraged to come out and audition in droves across the country as the production started to weave through the most talented contestants, or, as would become clear, the contestants that would play the best on tv. You'll See what I mean? And immediately, American Idol auditions were huge. Thousands of contestants would line up outside stadiums across the country. The record ended up being 20,000 people in Philadelphia in 2007. And hopefuls would be whittled away round after round, and only around 150 people would actually make it to the judges table. From here, good singers are pushed to something called Hollywood Week. Judges would continue to eliminate contestants through the semifinals, at which point the decision would be turned over to the public. Voting was done first by calling a telephone number. Then you could text a vote starting in the second season. And you couldn't vote online until 2010. And finally, at the end of the season, a winner was announced in a gigantic finale at the Dolby Theater in la. And in those early seasons, the prize was massive. A major record deal with as many as six albums attached, management from Idol's in house representatives, and a $250,000 advance. As the show grew less popular, the prizes dwindled down to a potential single and closer to $60,000. If you were around for the early Idol years, you really couldn't avoid it. And the show was churning out genuine stars. Maybe this is me being nine coming out, but the thrill of seeing Kelly Clarkson demolish one. Justin Guarini.

[William Hung]

The winner of American Idol 2002 is Kelly Clarkson.

[Jamie Loftus]

Incredible. And she immediately became one of the biggest pop stars in the world. And sure that nearly 10 million viewership for the premiere was impressive, but the show gained serious steam throughout that first season when Kelly Clarkson won, over 22 million people were watching. And that just doesn't happen anymore on network tv. And thankfully, Kelly Clarkson is here with us to this day. We love her. She's a legend. This success continued for American Idol into its second season which featured the very wholesome rivalry between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. Member them.

[William Hung]

The winner of American Idol 2003 is Ruben Studdard.

[Jamie Loftus]

Ruben Studdard eventually won, but they both went on to find mild success separately. But in a twist that I love, they found even more success when they continued working together. Since they were on American Idol, Reuben and Clay have done a Christmas show together on Broadway. Hi, I'm Reuben Studdard and he's the person that lost to Ruben Studdard.

[William Hung]

And we're talking about Reuben and Clay's first annual Christmas Carol family fun pageant Spectacular reunion show.

[Jamie Loftus]

I mean, you gotta love them. The two toured together for the 20 year anniversary of their original competition on Idol and recently appeared on the masked singer has two beats b e e t s like the vegetable. 20 years after they met, they appeared as the vegetable beats on the mask singer singing a Michael Buble cover if you don't believe me. It sounds beautiful coming back, but I can't stress enough. They are dressed as glamorous root vegetables. But when Ruben and Clay were competing on idol back in 2003, this was even bigger than Kelly Clarkson's moment. 38 million people watched the finale that year. When Ruben stuttered, won. That's twice as many people who watched the Oscars this past year. American Idol was a star making vehicle. The early winners and runners up became household names and many had real staying power. In case you forgot names like Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Jordan Sparks, Adam Lambert, David Archuleta, and Catherine McPhee were all idol contestants. And it's not hard to understand why American Idol was such a major force. We can talk all day about how reality TV was really starting to boom around this time, but I think the simplest explanation is that this show literally narrativized the American dream. Most of these contestants were young people from the middle of nowhere, and the show really leaned into that. In classic reality TV fashion, the most promising contestants would be framed adoringly as talented kids with big dreams. Like, it's impossible to not root for these people based on how the show frames them.

[William Hung]

Hello, Kelly.

[Jamie Loftus]

Hello.

[William Hung]

How old are you?

[Jamie Loftus]

I'm a big fan of you, by the way. Thank you very much. I'm 20. I just turned 20 this April, so happy birthday. Cool beans. And by the third season of American Idol, audiences were well aware that the show was not a fluke. But as I recall, there was more than one type of American Idol viewer. There were the people who watched every single episode and obsessively called and texted in their votes for their favorite people in the later rounds. And there were people who were mainly in to watch the auditions. I was one of those. And if you don't watch for the good auditions and you won't, you were watching for the terrible auditions. Weirdly, we talked about this phenomenon recently on 16th minute. People who first experience their 15 minutes of fame after being shown in some public freak show style setting. And that is kind of what we're looking at here. People who were not good. And it was unclear in the way American Idol framed them if they knew they weren't good. But here they are being paraded on national television so that the famous three judges can confirm that they are indeed not very good. These kinds of contestants range from people who actually do think they are very talented singers to People who just kind of seemed to want to be on TV for whatever reason, whether it's personal gain or just attention. And as we now know, this is a kind of person, someone who would want to appear on as many reality TV shows as possible. But at the time, this wasn't quite as understood. So the contestants on Idol who were bad were framed as completely delusional. I want to be the next American Idol and I want to make it to Hollywood. And it's been my all time dream for a long time to become a big famous singer and performer. And this is just one way to do it if I make it.

[William Hung]

All right, off you go. Thank you.

[Jamie Loftus]

An elementary school, Jamie was not alone in reveling in a bad audition. They were so popular that Fox would air entire specials around them. During season one, they aired something called the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a whole special about auditions. And while a bad audition would occasionally make for conversation at the water cooler, something that allegedly happened, it wasn't until season three of Idol that at least for a time, one bad audition overshadowed the eventual winner. And the winner that season is incredible and thankfully is successful to this day. It was Fantasia Barrino and she was nominated for an Oscar last year. But for a time, the most famous person to be on Idol in 2004 was someone who never made it to Hollywood Week. And you can tell how you're supposed to feel about the audition based on how this contestant's introduction is edited for comparison. Here is how we meet eventual winner, Fantasia. Even 19 year old Fantasia Barrino can predict how the judges will react.

[William Hung]

I predict that Randy's going to like what he hears. Paula, I think she's gonna like, but I think I'm gonna have a little trouble out of Simon.

[Jamie Loftus]

But I'm ready for Simon. I'm ready for Simon. And here is how we meet the subject of this week's 16th minute.

[William Hung]

The producers, cast and crew would like.

[Jamie Loftus]

To express their gratitude to engineering student.

[William Hung]

William Hung for showing up and shaking his bonbon.

[Jamie Loftus]

William.

[William Hung]

Yes, talk to me, tell me your name. You blow me off like it's all the same you little fuse and I'm taking away like a bomb yeah, baby, she bangs, she bangs. Oh baby when she moves, she moves.

[Jamie Loftus]

William Hung, your 16th minute starts now. I'm not so bad when you turn.

[William Hung]

Up the lights but.

[Jamie Loftus]

Make me a star let's take it too far and give me.

[William Hung]

Goodbye.

[Jamie Loftus]

Welcome to 16th Minute, the podcast where we take a look at the Internet's main characters and learn how their moment affected them and what it says about us and the Internet. And this week we are talking about someone I consider to be the patron saints of main characters, William Hung. And just a heads up, this is going to be a two part episode because there is a lot going on in this story. Not only does it take place at a time where the Internet was still catching on in terms of being a part of shaping our minds and television, but it happened over two decades ago and intersects with how turn of the century reality TV framed people, particularly in this case Asian Americans and immigrants. The Xi Bangs moment lives on in infamy. But I want to take special attention towards that issue, specifically in the second part of this episode to examine where it fell in the history of cruelty and antipathy towards Asian men in Western media. But for all intents and purposes, the subject of this story, William Hung himself, rejects a lot of the popular narratives around his legacy. So for part one of this episode, I'm going to tell you the story of William Hung as it rolled out in real time and then we'll chat. And in next week in part two, we'll take a look at some of these narratives, ones that intersect with anti Asian racism and how American reality TV can be uniquely debaucherous. And this story is a real throwback. So buckle in and come with me if you dare to. 2004.

[William Hung]

Ooh.

[Jamie Loftus]

This year was formative for me. George W. Bush became president again and didn't even need to lie about it. This time, a movie I consider critical to my personality. Joel Schumacher's Phantom of the Opera, starring Gerard Butler as the film Phantom in the actual worst vocal performance of 2004 comes out. And William Hung becomes the most famous American Idol contestant of all time for a quote unquote bad audience audition at the beginning of the summer, just as school was getting out. And our relationship to the Internet was very particular at this time. To set the scene, this is a year where MySpace was the most popular social media site. It was the year that Facebook launched in a strange Zuckerbergian horny experiment. It was before YouTube even existed. Blogs and message boards are the norm. Blogger and Friendster and Mozilla, Firefox and Confessions by Usher are playing at a dance. The top shows around Idol on TV were csi, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Survivor, and Everybody Loves Raymond. And reality TV specifically was having a huge moment. What constitutes reality TV is pretty nebulous, but it has been around in some form since TV has existed, beginning with Candid Camera. Coming from radio to TV in the late 1940s then giving way to early dating shows like the Dating game in the 60s. Televised talent shows became more popular in the 80s with that's Incredible debuting on ABC in the 80s and Cops, the most sinister reality show of all time, starting up in 1989. But I think most people consider the start of contemporary reality shows with MTV's the Real World in 1992. Then in the late 90s into the early 2000s, the debaucherous contest based shows began to take off. Survivor started in 2000, then Big Brother, then Fear Factor and on and on. The Bachelor premiered less than three months before American Idol, and this was just in the U.S. again, Idol was a direct ripoff of two different international titles talent shows, and it kind of scratched the itch of a wide range of genres. It had the exploitative, luring character study of everyday people as in Survivor, while also having the polish of an old school star search setup. And yes, while it took Idol creator Simon Fuller a little bit of pixie dust to sell Fox on the value of the show, it wasn't a shock that it did well. It was literally cooked in a lab to do well. Here's some initial reception of the show in the New York Daily News. Two days after the premiere, Fox's music talent search series American Idol is looking like the first new hit of the summer. American Idol also demonstrates the unpredictability of summer reality shows.

[William Hung]

Several weeks ago, Fox introduced Looking for.

[Jamie Loftus]

Bachelorettes in Alaska in which five women.

[William Hung]

Will select a husband from 50 eligible men.

[Jamie Loftus]

But audiences haven't bothered to watch. And not for nothing, I would have watched that shit pronto. Put it in a syringe for Jamie, but you get the idea. American Idol blew up at a time where reality TV was just becoming a fixture of American life. But how do we get from here to William Hung nearly two years after the show's debut? Well, here's what you need to know about William and I'll let him expand in our interview. William was born in Hong Kong in 1982 and then moved to the LA area, Van Nuys to my local heads with his family when he was 11. This is where he spent his adolescence and he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley to study civil engineering. And it's here in the early 2000s that William learns that American Idol is holding auditions in nearby San Francisco in September 2003. When he's 20 years old, I'll let him tell the story of auditioning in more detail, but it boils down to this. William had a good sense of humor about Himself, he enjoyed pop music, and he was familiar with American Idol because everyone was. And so he auditions. He gets through the general round, he gets through the producer round, and he keeps on getting through until he's told on the second day of auditioning that he will be presented to Randy Simon and Paula themselves. The gods have agreed to meet with him. But before we get to the audition itself, a lot of people I spoke to about this episode were kind of surprised at how early William Hung became a sensation in American Idol's run. And I can't help but agree there were only a few other contestants who I remembered, but no one like William. In fact, the only other two contestants I remembered clearly as having bad auditions were from 2008 and 2010. First, pants on the ground, Pants on.

[William Hung]

The ground, Pants on the ground.

[Jamie Loftus]

Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground. And especially no sex allowed. So I promise her love as she strings along. Cause sex is weak and love is strong. No sex allowed. I don't wanna be part of your crowd. And you can see from these examples alone, neither of these guys are good singers. But that's not exactly the point, is it? There's plenty of bad singers that audition for shows. These people are good TV and lean into, in some cases, religious and racialized tropes that Americans would be familiar with and do not challenge them whatsoever. But that's not because the contestants embody these fictional tropes. It's because that's how they're framed. And it's here that I want to take you on a divergent journey, A tale of two auditions, if you will. Because when William Hung's audition airs, he becomes an overnight star, one of the earliest people to straddle the worlds of traditional media and word of mouth and the power of the Internet. And this reaction and legacy has a lot to do with William himself, but also has to do with how we're conditioned to see him based on how the show frames him. So here is path one, the aired audition. We're gonna fast forward the singing because you know what it sounds like, but.

[William Hung]

We have found the next key. What's your name? My name is Ryan. Oh, nice to meet you. Nice to see you, buddy. Let me tell you what I'm gonna sing. I'm singing Ricky Martin. She bangs, she bangs. Yes, it's a good song. So. But. So it's either I really do well by lighting up the stage, right, Or I don't. The producers, cast and crew would like.

[Jamie Loftus]

To express their gratitude to engineering student.

[William Hung]

William Hung for Showing up and shaking his bonbon.

[Jamie Loftus]

William.

[William Hung]

Yes. Talk to me, tell me your name. You blow me off like it's all the same.

[Jamie Loftus]

I'm wasted.

[William Hung]

By the way, she thank you. You can't sing, you can't dance. So what do you want me to say? You know, I have no professional training of singing.

[Jamie Loftus]

We didn't believe it either. Well, that's the prize of the century. This whole segment is a little over a minute. We meet William, we learn he's an engineering student and we see him bomb. Paula does an awkward encouraging dance. And Randy covers his face with a napkin to hide the fact that he's laughing. Behind William, the faces of Reuben studdard and Kelly Clarkson loses. And if you've seen the audition, and I know you have, William is dancing kind of awkwardly along with the music before he's stopped by Simon. And then he is summarily rejected by the gods. And that's the clip. But that's a lot to happen in the space of a minute. And it speaks to the economical way that American idol editors and producers condensed n thousand auditions into a single episode of television to get a public reaction. And boy, was there a public reaction. But before we get there and forge ahead into Williams career, I want to bring you to that second path, the one where William's audition wasn't compressed into 70 seconds and gives far more insight into why William has come to audition in the first place. So here's pathway 2, a segment from the 5 minute cut of Williams audition.

[William Hung]

I grew up in Los Angeles, California, originally born from Hong Kong. So I've been here in the United States for 10 years and I currently study at UC Berkeley right now. It's kind of odd, like, why I chose to even audition in the first place because my major is civil engineering, which is not totally not related to music, but I really like music. I want to make music my living.

[Jamie Loftus]

He expands a little more in the preamble with the judges.

[William Hung]

William, why are you here? I'm here to sing to America. To sing to America. Okay. All right, let's try it again. I'm here for the trinity. To sing to America. Because you think you could be the next American idol? Absolutely. Why? Because I'm singing from my heart. I may 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. Really? Yes. William, what's your last name? Hung. H u n G. Hung. Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

Do you have brothers and sisters?

[William Hung]

No, I don't. I'm the only Child. You're the only child? Yes. Do your parents tell you you have a great voice? No, they don't realize that. They don't realize it yet, no. Because when I was young, my parents liked to sing karaoke. I was there with them and sing with them as a hobby. And what do they do when you sing with them? What do I do?

[Jamie Loftus]

What do they do?

[William Hung]

What do they do when I sing with them? They thought, I'm okay. They thought, I have a chance of making it to the next level.

[Jamie Loftus]

And again, there's a lot more information you get here. He acknowledges he's not the best singer. And look, why is he here if he knows that? The age old question of reality TV returns? And you get more from the judges when William finishes. And Simon Cowell really turns the knife, as you might expect, William, it's one.

[William Hung]

Of actually the worst auditions we've had.

[Jamie Loftus]

This year, if I'm being honest.

[William Hung]

Seriously, I mean, everything about it was grotesque.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, stop it.

[William Hung]

Not grotesque. It was. Stop it. You can't sing, you can't dance.

[Jamie Loftus]

So what do you.

[William Hung]

What do you want me to say? I already gave my best and I have no regrets at all.

[Jamie Loftus]

Good for you. That's good.

[William Hung]

Now. That's good. That's good.

[Jamie Loftus]

That's the best attitude yet.

[William Hung]

All right, so Randy, yes or no?

[Jamie Loftus]

No. William, you know you're not good enough for this dude. But at least you came here, you had a good time, you had fun, right?

[William Hung]

Yes. Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

You did your thing, baby, and we.

[William Hung]

Had fun watching you. Okay, thank you so much for coming, Dan. Thank you.

[Jamie Loftus]

William, go and do some homework. Ultimately, I think this longer cut makes the judges seem even crueler. Cowell saying grotesque about William in particular, something that Randy and Paula to people with more humanity who happen to be people of color, immediately protest to. And this clip further asks the question of how William feels about his own ability. In one breath, he says he knows he isn't great. In the next, he says he knows he can make a living as a singer and it's his dream. But it's this moment.

[William Hung]

You can't sing, you can't dance. So what do you want me to say? I already gave my best and I have no regrets at all.

[Jamie Loftus]

That I feel sums William up the best. No matter what others say, he has no regrets. Contrast this with how this is presented in the first broadcast.

[William Hung]

You can't sing, you can't dance. So what do you want me to say? You know, I have no professional training of singing. No.

[Jamie Loftus]

Where an unrelated response from William is spliced in in no small part, I think, to make him seem more delusional. Like, he thinks they were so blown away by his performance that they would be impressed by his lack of training. And while awkward, this is how that response actually comes up in the full clip. No, William, you know you're not good.

[William Hung]

Enough for this dude.

[Jamie Loftus]

But at least you came here. You had a good time.

[William Hung]

You had fun, right? Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

You did your thing, baby, and we.

[William Hung]

Had fun watching you. Okay, thank you so much for coming down. Thank you.

[Jamie Loftus]

Go and do some. William, Go and do some homework.

[William Hung]

Okay.

[Jamie Loftus]

We won't tell your parents that you.

[William Hung]

Missed two days of school. No. You know, I have no professional training of singing, so.

[Jamie Loftus]

So the context is actually quite different. He's speaking more defensively after being roundly rejected, almost offering an explanation for the performance instead of the edit. We see where he's positioned as being almost arrogant about it. This is the nature of reality TV, and it's prompted endless discussion since the early 2000s. Today, I think it's far more normal to assume what you're watching on reality TV isn't real than is. But in the early 2000s, that built in skepticism wasn't fully formed. And it wasn't unusual to take things like that at face value these days. You have examples like Love is Blind contestants suing their network for plying them with alcohol and misrepresenting them in the edit while paying them very little. But honestly, if you made Those same complaints 20 years ago, the understanding of how these shows were built and profited from wasn't really well understood enough to build meaningful empathy for any of their participants. And so William is presented to the world as this William Pathway one. The producers, cast and crew would like to express their gratitude to engineering student.

[William Hung]

William Hung for showing up and shaking his bonbon.

[Jamie Loftus]

And it's this version of William that first becomes a viral sensation, but not necessarily overnight. It takes mainstream media outlets a few days before they start to jump onto the William train, but once it starts, it's unstoppable. The Asian boy came in. Of course he goes by William, Hong Abdul says, beginning to giggle like a kid on the first day of gym class. On his list were two songs, and he said, I'll sing God Bless America. And the second song was she Bangs. What a remarkable American Idol discovery in a nutshell. If you turned Clay Aiken inside out, you would discover William.

[William Hung]

American Idol executive producer Nigel Lithgow admits.

[Jamie Loftus]

That they are anxious to get the Bay Area Belter back for a mid series Special tentatively titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented. Yes, William became a sensation to his bafflement, because he'd auditioned four months earlier and had no indication of how his segment had been edited. And if you don't know that, just kind of how reality TV works to this day, unless you're a cast member who's also accredited producer or otherwise involved in the production. So William confirmed to me that when he auditioned, he signed a release form that basically meant he had no control over how much or if any of his audition would appear in the final cut. He's signing over the footage of his likeness and effectively all authorial control of how we meet him. But this story didn't move at the speed most stories do today. William takes a little while to start meaningfully engaging with the sensation, and I think if it happened now, the ship might have already sailed. But media in 2004 moved a little slower. There were waves in which William became more popular, giving American Idol producers time to respond to and gauge what to do with his popularity. Producer Nigel Lythgoe commented in something called Zap to it news in mid February, nearly a month after Williams audition aired, I don't know what the future holds.

[William Hung]

He's going to be called to do.

[Jamie Loftus]

Things, and if he's happy to do them, that's great.

[William Hung]

He shouldn't give up Berkeley. Obviously, he's an extremely intelligent guy and realizes that this could be his five minutes of fame. Mm.

[Jamie Loftus]

Potent phrase. Salient phrase. In the immediate aftermath of the she Bangs audition, there was buzz in the news and online. But part of the reason we're still talking about him now is because Hung eventually became amenable to all this attention. This appears to have happened sometime in the first month after the audition aired because Hung was rejecting appearance requests at first. At the end of February, Hung turned down a chance to headline the halftime show of a pro lacrosse team in Philadelphia, citing the need to focus on his studies as the reason. He was doing the occasional interview in the first month, but certainly not dropping his life entirely from an Entertainment tonight piece from February 10th.

[William Hung]

I wasn't expecting this media exposure. I think it's a bit overwhelming. It's also a little bit surprising because I didn't expect this overwhelming fan base.

[Jamie Loftus]

I don't know. I'm really not sure about this, but it seems positive. As William talks about in our interview, the amount of protracted attention he was receiving became difficult to resist. And not strictly because of attention either. There was money in this and people weren't growing Less interested in him. But again, this fervent kind of attention cuts a number of different ways because it's in response to a fundamentally dishonest version of how William first responded during that audition. And in a truly archaic Internet landscape, early fan sites for him started to emerge both genuine and ironic. But before we look at those, can I just say, combing through early 2000s fan sites nearly induced an epileptic attack in me. So much neon, so many flashing gifs. Just a complete misunderstanding of proper line spacing and fonts. Awful. You're welcome. Because make no mistake, there was a vital Internet community around William, one that became impossible for both him and American Idol to ignore. On the earnest side, there was Billyhung.com, a site that aimed to raise money to help William record an album. They said while William may not have the raw talent that the judges were looking for, America sees something different. William Hung, in some small way, represents each of us and how we strive to reach our dreams. Ignoring all the naysayers on the way. If William succeeds in reaching his dream, this will teach all of us that we can reach any potential we set our mind to reach. If he doesn't achieve his goals, perhaps it is America and not William that has failed. And on the other side, the mocking sights with the same terrible blinking lights, most notably savewilliamhung.com they say this. We asked him to put down the microphone and step away from the stage.

[William Hung]

But William Hung wouldn't listen.

[Jamie Loftus]

When the music stops, Will is going.

[William Hung]

To wake up to a cruel reality.

[Jamie Loftus]

People haven't been laughing with him. They've been laughing at him. Will's wild ride is going to come to a very lonely end by the end of the year. You'll probably laugh, then, feeling guilty, you'll say, oh, well. We believe Will is going to need some serious psychological counseling, so we're collecting donations. This was matched with increasing mainstream attention, which I will summarize through this God awful Jimmy Fallon impression on snl. Trigger warning for everything. Let me just say I have no professional training in music.

[William Hung]

Okay, talk to me, tell me your name. You blow me off like it's all the same.

[Jamie Loftus]

Huh? Huh? But the main website that launched him as an online personality was done by a couple named Don and Laura Chin. And their site, williamhung.net got over 4 million hits the first week of its launch. Add that to an online petition with 100,000 signatures to send Hung to Hollywood in late February 2004, over a month after his appearance, and neither Idol nor Hung could ignore it any longer. They wanted him back. And remember that audition special Nigel Lithgow mentioned earlier? They did that in early March 2004. But unlike the season one audition special, these auditions were all bad. Uncut, uncensored, untalented.

[William Hung]

They braved the auditions. They braved the brutal critiques of the judges. Tonight, you brave their performances live, in person. Was the panel wrong to keep them in the dark, or do they belong on this stage? Uncut, uncensored, but untalented.

[Jamie Loftus]

You watch, you decide. It's wild. The opening of this special pans across people who did poorly in the auditions and brings them back for an hour of primetime entertainment hosted by Ryan seacrest. Wearing a suit jacket with a T shirt and jeans. Come on. And William, of course, is the best. Saved for last on this show, we love William Hahn. The guy has gotten over 7 million hits on his fan website.

[William Hung]

Once in an anonymous face in a crowded holding room. This man's life has changed beyond compare. Once he walked the campus of Berkeley alone. Now he needs a police escort to make it to his civil engineering classes. Once merely a number, his name is now legend across the country. Even Jimmy Fallon paid homage to William on Saturday night live. He's the latest American singing sensation. I get recognized everywhere. It's kind of difficult to get around without getting recognized. I guess his banging puts even Ricky Martin to shame.

[Jamie Loftus]

He is hung. And as you can hear, the Internet is cited as a big reason he's held on to all this attention. William is a celebrity who straddles time and technology. He's really only getting his due six weeks after he first appeared. But the Internet is a crucial part of this success. But it's still framed as kind of a joke.

[William Hung]

Good to see you. Wow.

[Jamie Loftus]

Your life is completely changed, huh?

[William Hung]

Yeah, I can believe it. Yeah, neither can we.

[Jamie Loftus]

So it's pretty indisputable that William Hung is the reason that this special happened at all. And if there's any clearer indication of how famous he was becoming. It was rumored that a Clay Aiken special was postponed to make room for uncut, uncensored, untalented. Being famously bad could be more profitable than being famously good. But I love Clay Aiken. Invisible is my go to karaoke show, and it hasn't brought the house down once Things had changed for William at this time point. Hi, Will. Hi. I heard that you were offered a record deal. Is it true?

[William Hung]

Yes, it is.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh. And what did you decide to do?

[William Hung]

Did you take that? I'm still looking over the small details. Oh, yes. So what, you have an agent now? I'm getting somebody to work on it. My dad, my agents. I mean, I'm trying to work on it. It's Team Hong. Alrighty. I mean, those are. I mean, contracts are very serious deals. Yes. And also so they require attention. That's true.

[Jamie Loftus]

And the record he's talking about here was very real and recorded absurdly fast. Just a month after this special aired, Williams album was out on April 6, 2004, and it was titled Inspiration. Like you heard in the primetime interview, the album carefully projects Hung's image. Inspirational in the no regrets sense, but still clearly pushing him to look silly. Of course, it leads with the she Bangs cover and the rest are kind of randomized covers with really basic karaoke tracks behind them. With respect to William, it sounds like an album that was recorded in a Weeknd, because it was. He covers Eagles, he covers Elton John, and of course, the album can't be complete without the ymca.

[William Hung]

It's fun to stay at the ymca. It's fun to stay at the ymca. They have everything for your men to enjoy. You can hang out with all the boys.

[Jamie Loftus]

Interwoven into this were these Zen like monologues that fed into Williams don't give up Persona.

[William Hung]

Even with a lot of talent in singing, even with a lot of talent in whatever you choose to do, you still have to put in this hard work. And you need that determination and perseverance not to give up.

[Jamie Loftus]

And was this album reviewed well? No, of course not. But by the end of April, it had broken the top 30 in the country with over 40,000 sales, and it would go on to move 200,000. William got paid a $25,000 advance to record the album, which, you don't need me to tell you, is a life changing amount of money, especially for a college student. And so he decided to take a step back from school while he explored whatever this was. But this didn't come without its fair share of criticism, particularly among Asian writers and critics who couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the way that William was being positioned by the media. Emil Guillermo wrote for SFGate in April 2004. When I first saw Hong Kong born UC Berkeley engineering student William Hung sing that Ricky Martin song on Fox's American Idol last January, I tried to ignore it, but after Hung's humiliation, there came a nice outpouring of sympathy for the rejected puppy dog. Here was an accented Asian American with bad hair, bad teeth, bad moves, and a bad accent. And even though he can't sing, America still loved him. Certainly there'd be no shortage of worthy candidates for Hung. Like stardom, regular American Idol viewers know tons of good singers that have been rejected and abused by the show's Simon Cowell. The difference here Hung is Asian American, and the accented Foreigner gag is still considered acceptable schtick in modern comedy, at least when it comes to Asian Americans. As Asian Americans, we look through this racial lens and we see this guy who embodies all the stereotypes we are trying to escape from, said James Howe, a documentary filmmaker who explored Asian American male sexuality in Masters of the Pillow. And we will be talking about this more in depth next week. But this conversation is obviously very relevant then and now, and something that William has spoken on for two decades, including in our interview, and the rest of 2004 becomes a complete whirlwind for him. There is this very 2000s music video to accompany his Shebangs cover. There's a vanity documentary called Hanging with Hung. And in old school fashion, he goes on this extensive late night tour to promote the album.

[William Hung]

Next guest is best known for his rendition of Ricky Martin She Bangs at the Fox American Idol audition since then has become an overnight pop cultural phenomenon. Ladies and gentlemen, here he is tonight performing yes, that very song from his debut cd, Inspiration. Please welcome William Hung, ladies and gentlemen.

[Jamie Loftus]

And by May 2004, William Hung is one of the top acts in the country, performing at Wango Tango at the Rose bowl over a week before Fantasia Barrino actually won season three of American Idol. The other acts at Wango Tango this year buckle in were Outkast, Ashlee Simpson, the Backstreet Boys, Hillary and Haley Duff, Fifi Dobson, oh my God, the Pussycat Dolls, Nerd, Janet Jackson, the Black Eyed Peas and I Could keep going. It was 2004 and William Hung had made it. But things started to slow down a little after season three of American Idol wrapped up. He made bank with ads for Jack in the Box, Singular Wireless and Ask for Jeeves. But by late summer, the attention appeared to be slipping. In August, the Contra Costa Times said William was still hanging on to his 15 minutes by taking his act to Singapore. Then he released a second album in 2004 called Hung for the Holidays that didn't go over quite as well as inspiration.

[William Hung]

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday.

[Jamie Loftus]

Style in the air and things never again really reached the heights that they had for William in 2004. With year endless declaring, William hung around for a long time. From here, William becomes a popular reference, but was unlikely to make those big Wango Tango appearances. He once did. Particularly after his third and final album, Happy Summer from William Hung failed to make waves in 2005.

[William Hung]

Love it.

[Jamie Loftus]

Fan sites are updated less frequently, and then not at all. He makes a few cameos here and there, most notably in arrested development in 2006. If you know, you know. Well, it looks like we've got a mistrial, but on the plus side, we've also got a hung jury. Hit it. But William was soon down to private appearances and gigs. A 2006 clipping said he charged $4,000 to play your holiday party. He'd made appearances at baseball games. He was declared the artichoke king. Question mark. The list goes on. And by the end of the 2000s, he seemed to just be scraping by. And the whole ditching college for entertainment thing didn't seem like the right choice anymore. So it was time to return to school and get a day job, even in the midst of a surprise cameo on Idol in 2010. Because keep in mind, William is consistent in having no bad blood with the show. He then made a try of it as a high school math teacher for a time, something he references in his TED Talks because for some reason, if you're a 6th, 16th minute character, you will somehow end up with a TED Talk. He talks about his experience teaching here.

[William Hung]

But then when I asked the students to do the math problems, they refused. Could it be my thinking? Then my master teacher gestured to me to get out of class. He said, william, if you keep this up, I will fail you. He had to take over the class for the rest of the day. When I went home, I cried because I felt like that was one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. It's like getting booed off the stage.

[Jamie Loftus]

And look, anyone teaching high schoolers is 5,000 thousand times braver than me. I would never. After teaching high school, William went back to school as a student, finishing his degree in math at Cal state Northridge in 2010, then getting a master's degree, and he's now working on a second master's degree. After he flunked out as a teacher, he became a data analyst for the despised LA County Sheriff's Department. Leading me to the crucial question, does ACAB include William Hung? Very possibly. He then goes over to the Department of Public Health, then more recently back to the Sheriff's department. William, I just want to talk. But through all this, William keeps up with his public profile. There's the TED talks in the 2010s, and there's his on and off career as a celebrity poker player. So obviously the dream for a lot of people is to end up playing professionally. And I feel like you've done a lot of cool things in your life. You got to sing, you got to travel the world and perform for people. So what would it feel like to reach that level of being able to play poker professionally?

[William Hung]

I think it'll be awesome because if I can do that like some of the tournament professionals, I get to travel across the world, do charity like you. That'd be fantastic.

[Jamie Loftus]

And this poker side hustle started as a hobby and began to tumble into gambling addiction, which Hung has said contributed to the end of his first marriage. In 2024, at the beginning of his making the press rounds for the 20th anniversary of the she Bangs audition, he shared about recovering from gambling addiction. This is from a talk with People magazine. I knew I was good at poker.

[William Hung]

But then I got greedy.

[Jamie Loftus]

I got into sports betting, the whole gamut. I know better now.

[William Hung]

I wasn't supposed to do those things, but I did it anyway and I paid for it.

[Jamie Loftus]

I got divorced and I learned I had to be smart about which risks.

[William Hung]

I chose to take.

[Jamie Loftus]

But through all of this, over the course of 20 years, William's message has remained consistent even as he's had to contend with all of this criticism, exploitation, and even addiction. He's an extremely resilient person and very kind. And when we come back, I'm speaking with the man himself, William MF Hong.

[William Hung]

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[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

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[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

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[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

Don't delay.

[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

Oh, it's such a clutch off season pickup, Dave.

[Jamie Loftus]

I know, right?

[William Hung]

I was worried we'd bring back the same team. Oh, no.

[Jamie Loftus]

I meant those Blackout motorized shades.

[William Hung]

MVP of the room.

[Jamie Loftus]

Blinds.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install?

[William Hung]

No, it's easy. Even you could do it.

[Jamie Loftus]

Nice. I installed these and then got some from my mom too.

[William Hung]

You fly across the country to do the install?

[Jamie Loftus]

Nope.

[William Hung]

Blinds.com can do it all. All she had to do was pick what she wanted.

[Jamie Loftus]

She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install. Look at you. Hall of fame son. Oh, I just picked the winning team. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Oh.

[William Hung]

Blinds.com is the goat.

[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

I don't even need to say his name. Mr. A complete unknown is now a.

[Jamie Loftus]

Golden Globe in critics choice nominee for best picture. Bobby, what do you want to be?

[William Hung]

Whatever it is they don't want me to be.

[Jamie Loftus]

Timothy Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the year. And critics rave. Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic. 70,000 people are here and Bobby is the reason for it. They just want to be singing blowing.

[William Hung]

In the wind for the rest of my life.

[Jamie Loftus]

Don't miss the movie. Critics are healing. Five stars. It's pure cinematic magic. Turn it down. Hey.

[William Hung]

Loud.

[Jamie Loftus]

And named to AFI and the National Board of Reviews top 10 films of the year.

[William Hung]

Make some noise BD track some mud on carpet.

[Jamie Loftus]

A complete unknown. Now playing only in theaters.

[William Hung]

Return.

[Jamie Loftus]

Rated R. Under 17 out of middle without parrot. Welcome back to 16th minute. When American Idol debuted, I was in elementary school and was so inspired to also become a pop star like Kelly Clarkson that I went to audition to sing the national anthem at a minor minor league baseball game in my city, in spite of the fact that I was paralyzingly shy. And guess what, bitch? I got the gig. Wearing what I now realize were somewhat culturally insensitive twisties and a Walmart shirt that said all American girl. I sang the national anthem to 4,000 people, and I was fine. Take off your hat and stand or don't, because America's not a respectable place. But listen to baby Jamie. Okay, A little pitchy dog at the end, but good for her. She's got a big future in radio. And today we are revisiting the saga of William Hung. And I say, why not just cut to the chase and let's talk to the man himself? So without further ado, here is my interview with the one and only William Hung.

[William Hung]

Hi, everyone. This is William Hong. You probably know me from my American Idol audition back in 2004. It was a very unique audition. I sang the song by Ricky Martin.

[Jamie Loftus]

She bangs the definitive performance of that song. With all due respect to Ricky Martin, thank you so much for doing this. I'm so excited to talk to you.

[William Hung]

You're welcome.

[Jamie Loftus]

It's the 20th anniversary of your audition originally airing, and there were some pieces and some interviews with you. What is it like to reflect on that moment?

[William Hung]

I can't believe the time went by so fast.

[Jamie Loftus]

Before we get into talking about American Idol and reflecting on that, tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? How did you grow up? Who were you at the time of this audition?

[William Hung]

Well, I used to enjoy singing karaoke when I was very young, around 10 years old, with my parents. And then something that people might not know about me is that I geek out on video games and math. I'm very good at video games. I'm very good at math, actually. Wherever I put my heart into, I feel like I can get to the top. That was my mentality when I played Pokemon trading card game when I was younger. I made it all the way to the world championships.

[Jamie Loftus]

Wait, tell me about that.

[William Hung]

Yeah, so, you know, I started playing casually with my friends, you know, in school, and then I competed in local tournaments, and then I just worked my way up, you know, city level, state level, world level. It's like I Can't believe it.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, my God. Wait, how old were you when you were doing those tournaments?

[William Hung]

Like, I think it's the high school, college years. Before American Idol. Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

Where were the world championships? Did you travel to compete? Like, what did you do?

[William Hung]

Yeah, I remember the world championships was in San Diego, in California, so it's not too far. But it was definitely a memory I will never forget.

[Jamie Loftus]

So you're very passionate. When you like something, you like it hard.

[William Hung]

Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

What were your go to games growing up?

[William Hung]

Oh, I love Super Mario Brothers, Tetris. I played a lot of role playing games like Zelda, Final Fantasy. Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

That's so cool that you did it with your. That it was like a family activity too. What were your, like, parents and family's go to songs?

[William Hung]

Oh, they, they. They like the older Chinese songs. I wasn't used to listening to American pop music. I only took it upon myself after I started in college. I went to civil engineering to study at Berkeley. And I thought everything would. Because high school was easy for me, but in college, no, not so easy. I was struggling. I almost got kicked out of school and I figured, okay, well, I need to try something else.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah.

[William Hung]

One day I saw this poster for a school talent show at UC Berkeley. Yes. And I started watching and studying the music videos from Ricky Martin online.

[Jamie Loftus]

It was just like a way of kind of like getting out of your head and putting yourself out there.

[William Hung]

Yeah. I mean, I had no expectation. I started a talent show. I thought, well, let's see what happens. And then somehow, to my surprise, I won. I won a DVD player.

[Jamie Loftus]

That's such an early 2000s prize. And what did you sing? Did you sing she Bangs at the talent show?

[William Hung]

Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

I'm curious a little bit, if you don't mind getting into it. High school, you were in the. Was it the Van Nuys area once you moved?

[William Hung]

Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

And then when did you move to the US originally?

[William Hung]

Long time ago. Like. Like 1993, maybe. Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

Okay. So elementary. So high school is kind of a breeze. What changes in college? Is it just the adjustment? Was it the program you were in? Like. Yeah, take me through that a little bit.

[William Hung]

I think the part of it is that I feel like it's hard. It's harder to find the support because in the beginning, I didn't know where to find the support. I was getting by. I was passing, but I wasn't doing great. I struggled. My foundation was not very good, and that's that. And then. And then eventually I need to get. Get some help, you know, from My peers from tutors. I found a way, you know, I found a way around it, but I got through it. But. But it's still not the same, because maybe in high school, it was easier to get that, you know, a right then college is so different.

[Jamie Loftus]

So you do this talent show. You perform shebangs. You win, you've got the DVD player. What happens next?

[William Hung]

A few days later, I heard on the news that they have American Idol auditions coming to San Francisco. I decided it was a good time to try.

[Jamie Loftus]

Were you a fan of the show at the time?

[William Hung]

I wasn't sure. I didn't know what some of the auditions looked like. I felt like it was either very good or very bad. And I knew that Simon Cowell was the mean guy.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yes.

[William Hung]

Randy is the wild card. And then Paula was going to be the nice lady.

[Jamie Loftus]

Tell me about the experience of auditioning, because I know that now, understanding how reality TV is edited, which I didn't at the time. The experience of auditioning. And then we'll talk about the edit that was released. But what was the audition experience like?

[William Hung]

Well, they asked me more questions. They asked me why I want to audition, what makes me think I could become the next American Idol. And for the listeners, you can. You can look at the extended audition online.

[Jamie Loftus]

How does the day go?

[William Hung]

You stand in line, you wait. You. You sit down in the bench. You know, it was at a baseball park. So I waited for my turn along with thousands of people. But when I got close to my turn, I was lucky. I only had to wait for a few hours. But I was watching all these people in front of me. They. They only got, like, 15 seconds to sing before they were told to go home. And then I thought, well, maybe it'll be the same result for me. You know, I have no reason to. To believe that I would suddenly make it to Hollywood or even get to see Randy, Paul, or Simon. It takes multiple rounds. So I saw the staff members. They were. They were going to the other people really quick. And then I thought, oh, no, Is it going to be the same for me? And then they let me stay over a minute, and then they somehow they let me through. They told me to come back the next day.

[Jamie Loftus]

How many people are invited back?

[William Hung]

It's about 200, maybe 180. I auditioned in front of the producers, and then, you know, they told me to sing she bangs. I did. And then I thought, whoa. At any point, I thought I would be done. That's it. No more. But somehow they let me through again. Okay, it's when I get to see Randy, Paula and Simon. I know that because as soon as I get past the producers, I got to meet Ryan Seacrest.

[Jamie Loftus]

Did your friends know you were doing this? Did you sort of do it on a whim?

[William Hung]

Oh, no. I tried to keep it to myself. I didn't want to let too many people know about it. I only told one classmate friend because I knew that I had to miss a couple of days of classes. So I told her to take good notes for me. I'll treat you afterwards. Wow.

[Jamie Loftus]

Okay, so then the audition happens, then you what, just like, return to your life? Right. How much time is there between the audition and when it airs?

[William Hung]

About 4 months difference.

[Jamie Loftus]

How did you feel afterwards? Was it just like. Well, that was fun.

[William Hung]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No reason. I had no reason to. To expect anything else. I mean, they told me that, you know, you're not, you're not ready for this. You cannot move on to Hollywood. It's okay. I mean, I expected that result. It's not nothing surprising. But what was surprising is the reaction after. I mean, the first thing that surprised me is that why they chose to broadcast my audition, because in January, I saw myself in a football commercial.

[Jamie Loftus]

Was your audition included in promotions before your episode?

[William Hung]

Yes, it was during the Cotton Ball commercial and New Year's Day. I still remember it. I didn't know what to expect. I have no idea why they would pick my audition to promote a lot, not just one time. And then I was thinking like, like, wait, what, what is different? What was different about my audition? Why would they want to. To make my audition stand out? Not many people took notice. Let's fast forward to the day I was watching the auditions by myself in the. I. I purposely locked myself in the room inside my dorm. I didn't want to. I didn't want people to know about it. I don't know how people react to it. So I was watching from the episode, from start to finish in the San Francisco episode. And then I noticed that many people who don't make it to Hollywood, they would get angry and upset.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah. How did you feel about the way that they edited and sort of framed the audition?

[William Hung]

I thought it was good for me. Yeah. I didn't have the raw classical talent or the musical talent. You know, if you, if you look at from, you know, if you compare to people that are trained. I know, I mean, I know that. I mean, I'm self aware enough to know that. But, you know, I feel like, wow, I can't believe that I'm One of the few people who, who was, who was positive working out of the audition.

[Jamie Loftus]

Room, even though the audition is like, not framed as this is a good audition, you're someone who like, has a lot of composure and you're like, okay, well, bye. So you were, you were happy with the appearance generally?

[William Hung]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

And overnight you are a student. You are by all accounts a random person. And then all of a sudden you're William Hung. How quickly do you feel this sort of momentum start and like, how did you handle it?

[William Hung]

It was overwhelming at first. I got so many interview and performing opportunities. I had to talk to my classmate friends. Eventually my parents found out. I also had to talk to my parents. How did they take it, my parents initially? They didn't take it that too well. They questioned why I put myself on the spot like that.

[Jamie Loftus]

Interesting. Was that, like, not something that they had known you to do in the past?

[William Hung]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They didn't expect that.

[Jamie Loftus]

What kind of opportunities were being presented in the first sort of wave of attention?

[William Hung]

The first ones I did, I remember were Entertainment Tonight, Ryan Seacrest show, and Ellen DeGeneres.

[Jamie Loftus]

I'm interested to talk about, and I know this has been sort of reflected on in the 20 year articles, all these different ways that you are presented to the public where you are consistently. Yeah, I'm myself and like, I like singing and this is a positive thing. You know, there's all of these reactions where some people act as if you're not in on the joke.

[William Hung]

Yes. Yes.

[Jamie Loftus]

Was that frustrating? Like, how do you handle that? Because it's like, in retrospect, if you read anything you said, it's very clear that, you know, it's. You're not approaching this like, I am the world's most amazing singer.

[William Hung]

No, I'm not. The way I approach is that. Is that I don't feel comfortable with the people twisting my story. And I think, I think, you know, I think American Idol is an amazing platform. So it's not from American Idol. It's the media. Some people on the media, they decided twist the story, you know.

[Jamie Loftus]

What did the media get wrong about you at the time?

[William Hung]

I don't agree with me portraying Asian stereotypes. That's the most common one I get. The reason I don't agree with that is that, yes, I don't have the raw talent. I didn't make it to Hollywood right now after many years. I have empathy for those people. I understand where they came from because back in the days, very few respectable Asian actors or entertainers, you know, so.

[Jamie Loftus]

That it, like, crossed over into America. Yeah, right.

[William Hung]

All right, Lady Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh. And that's about it.

[Jamie Loftus]

What also interests me, because this is a show about the Internet, is how this happens at this weird point where there's a lot of traditional media covering your story and then there's also, like, random people on the Internet. And I remember that, like, huge petition to have you return to American Idols.

[William Hung]

Oh, yeah, I still remember that, too.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah, it's a weird technology crossroads, too. Were you aware of the Internet conversations around you? Did you participate in them? What was the situation there?

[William Hung]

I didn't participate in them because I'm only one person. I could not handle all that.

[Jamie Loftus]

Totally. Yeah.

[William Hung]

And I don't think it would be healthy from mental health side of it to look at the worst and negative comments, you know, I mean, someone even made up a story that I committed suicide due to hearing overdose. Yeah, yeah, it's the article. That article may have been maybe still online today. When people asked me about it at that time, I told them, hey, I never use drugs. I hate drugs. So I'm standing before you. Very, very healthy, very positive. Right?

[Jamie Loftus]

How do you maintain and manage your mental health when you're going through something so intense and also not relatable to most people? How do you. How did you manage it?

[William Hung]

Well, I. I try to take the positive criticism, the. The constructive criticism that I can apply to improve myself, you know, like, like, like how, for example, maybe suggestions or how I handle the media suggestions, how my. How I manage myself, you know, moving forward and then. But the negative criticism, that, that's. That I cannot apply. I cannot improve myself with, you know, what's the point of listening to it? Just ignore it, put it aside, move on.

[Jamie Loftus]

More people need to take that advice. And we'll be right back with more from William Hung. The following ad is sponsored by Pets Best Insurance Services. Your pet is your bestie, your therapist, your preferred match. It's easy to love them, even when they sneak your snacks. It's easy to protect them, too, with pet insurance coverage from Pets Best, because it's all fun and games until they chew on something they shouldn't. With perfect timing, Pets Best helps protect your furry friend and your budget from this imperfect world. Get up to 90% on eligible vet bills for less than a dollar a day. Find your Perfect [e-mail] Pet insurance products offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company. For all terms visit petsbest.com policy. Have you ever considered becoming a surrogate? At my Donor Connection, you can help a family bring their baby home while earning $50,000 or more. Use your compensation to pay off debt, save for a home or achieve your dreams. We're looking for women who loved being pregnant and want to help others experience parenthood with unmatched support. Every step of the way, your journey will be life changing. Take the first step today. Visit mydonorconnection.com surrogate to complete our quick questionnaire and see if you qualify. That's mydonorconnection.com surrogate we have one more act for you this evening.

[William Hung]

I don't even need to say his name. Mr. Watt Dillon, a complete unknown, is.

[Jamie Loftus]

Now a Golden Globe in Critics Choice.

[William Hung]

Nominee for Best Picture.

[Jamie Loftus]

Bobby, what do you want to be?

[William Hung]

Whatever it is they don't want me to be.

[Jamie Loftus]

Timothy Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the.

[William Hung]

Year and critics rave.

[Jamie Loftus]

Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic. 70,000 people are here and Bobby is the reason for it.

[William Hung]

They just want me singing, blowing in the wind for the risk in my life.

[Jamie Loftus]

Don't miss the movie. Critics are healing. Five stars. It's pure cinematic magic. Turn it down.

[William Hung]

Hey Loud and named to AFI and.

[Jamie Loftus]

The National Board of reviews top 10 films of the year.

[William Hung]

Make some noise BD track some mud.

[Jamie Loftus]

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[William Hung]

Oh, such a clutch off season pickup, Dave.

[Jamie Loftus]

I know, right?

[William Hung]

I was worried we'd bring back the same team.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, no, I meant those blackout motorized shades.

[William Hung]

MVP of the room lines.com made it.

[Jamie Loftus]

Crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install?

[William Hung]

No, it's easy. Even you could do it.

[Jamie Loftus]

Nice. I installed these and then got some for my mom too.

[William Hung]

You fly across the country to do the install?

[Jamie Loftus]

Nope.

[William Hung]

Blinds.com can do it all. All she had to do was pick what she wanted.

[Jamie Loftus]

She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install. Look at you. Hall of fame, son. Oh, I just picked the winning team. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Oh.

[William Hung]

Blinds.com is the goat.

[Jamie Loftus]

The goat shop. Up to 45% off select styles plus a free professional measure and a 100% satisfaction guarantee during the blinds.com year end blowout. Up to 45% off [e-mail] blinds.com rules and restrictions may apply. Welcome back to 16th Minute. My name's Jamie Loftus and twist. Just a couple years after my iconic debut at Campanelli stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts, I sang the national anthem again to another sold out crowd who was there to see baseball and not me. And this time my little brother sang with me. And yes, I had the same culturally insensitive hairstyle. You can blame my mom. Our whole thing became that when a Canadian baseball team came to town. I would sing the American national anthem and Ben would sing the Canadian national anthem. And my brother was really little, so it was very cute. Here's Ben.

[William Hung]

To perform the Canadian national anthem. Home and native land.

[Jamie Loftus]

Ben, he's laying there. Anyways, here's the rest of my interview with William Hung. It all seems like everything happens very fast because you are on the show. There's these whole different rounds of discourse about you and then you're making an album. How did that sort of come together?

[William Hung]

One of my record companies at the time, Koch Records, they noticed the opportunity. They saw how I had like insane website traffic for my website. Yeah, yeah, they mentioned the petition one too. Yeah, they noticed those things and then they took a chance to, to reach out to me. They will offer like a 25000 advance for the record contract. Oh my.

[Jamie Loftus]

And you're like a college student, so.

[William Hung]

Yeah, 20 years ago. Well, I think the money was, was definitely a factor because I know that if I take on this opportunity, you know, it'll Be. It'll be way worth way more than that. You know, it's not just the record contract by itself is, you know, I, I'm going to get more performance, more commercials, things like that. So I knew that financial side, yeah, it makes sense for me to take that chance. But I think on the other side, the, the, the. I would say the personal brand, I. The biggest opportunity I had by taking this is to share my version of my own story.

[Jamie Loftus]

It's like an opportunity to sort of of control the narrative about yourself. That was.

[William Hung]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the reason. That's the reason I said yes is that. That's the main reason.

[Jamie Loftus]

How did you want to shift things at that time?

[William Hung]

I try to focus on the positive when people question, like, like why. Why am I in the entertainment industry? I know that's a common question I get at the time. Like, you don't have to, you know, you don't have to. Wrong talent. Why you want to still do this? You know, don't you realize people are laughing at you? And I say, my response is that, you know, I can please everybody. You know, I know I have fans that want me to perform, they want to see me. And then I focus on bringing happiness to my fans.

[Jamie Loftus]

I mean, this first album does super, super well. I remember seeing it in Stars. So you do a couple albums, three total. It's like two studio albums, Christmas album, and that's like throughout the mid 2000s. Are you making your full time living off of this at the time?

[William Hung]

Yeah, I did it full time for about four years.

[Jamie Loftus]

From these very chaotic four years, do you have any favorite memories or appearances or anything that kind of sticks out to you is like, wow, that was really cool.

[William Hung]

Well, one of the most nerve wracking performance I did was for the Rose bowl when I was the very last performer. I was on the same level as the Janet Jackson black Ice piece at the time, Maroon 5. It was crazy.

[Jamie Loftus]

Something that I learned more about from your TED Talk that I'm really interested to talk about is the moment where you're like, all right, I'm going to get back to being myself and having kind of a normal life. When did you decide sort of like, I don't really want to perform full time anymore. And how did you navigate back into normal life?

[William Hung]

It's a transition, I think keeping it real with you. I don't think I can go back to normal life 100%. It just doesn't. That will never happen. But the way I try to transition is that I try to do the normal things. Going to school, eating a normal meal, not a fancy restaurant, or go enjoy my hobbies. Whether it's playing sports or video games, whatever, hanging out with friends. Just gradually get back into the normal life.

[Jamie Loftus]

Take me through your kind of career as you're coming off this wild four year journey.

[William Hung]

So the first thing I did was I decided that I need to go back to school. I need to finish my degree. And then I changed my major to math. I finished school. I thought I was going to become a teacher. That's probably what you heard in my TED Talk. I wanted to become a math teacher, but it was so tough because I feel like math teacher. I wanted to give, but sometimes it's like, it's like, it's like an extra job, you know, it's like it's not just a job in the classroom, but it's also the job outside the classroom.

[Jamie Loftus]

Did you enjoy being a teacher?

[William Hung]

I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I want that as my, as my long term career. So that, that, that's why, you know, I, I, when I saw the chance to apply for the sheriff's department for the statistical analyst, so the numbers guy, it's like, okay, why not? You know, that's good, that's a good, good time to try. I, I tried it. I got in. It was pretty cool. You know, I feel like the, I'm part of the bigger mission to help prevent and reduce the crime. That's really, that's nice. Nice, nice mission to be part of. I did that for about two years and then I got promoted to work for public health for about six years. And then I decided to do something a little crazy. Thought, you know, maybe it's time for me to get out of my job, start my own entertainment business again.

[Jamie Loftus]

I wanted to touch on this before we talk about the entertainment company. You bring this up in your TED Talk as well. How the audition kind of followed you into the workplace. Like what was navigating that? Like when people are like wait a second, why do.

[William Hung]

I was actually very open about it. I decided that being open was the best way forward because once they know the, the first time my, my int. My whole story, they will stop asking questions about it eventually. So yeah, I think that sharing everything was the easiest way.

[Jamie Loftus]

And then you want to get back into entertainment. Tell me about that period of time.

[William Hung]

It was a very, very interesting timing because something that, another thing that people might not know is that I've been playing and studying poker for many years on the side it's another one of my psychics. So at the time when I quit my job, the main reason, though, was that I was. I was. There's something called a cameo. It's like an app where people. Yeah, yeah, could request, like a short video for birthday, graduation, motivation. And of course, she bangs. And then I got, for some reason within, you know, that. That year that I chose to quit, you know, the year before that, I got so many requests, you know, like more than 20 each day. And then the place I'm living at in la, it's not ideal for doing that because, you know, my house has red thin walls. And then my neighbors get very upset. They would come, they would complain, they would bang the wall. And that's why I feel like, okay, well, you know, between that new business, you know, and then, like my poker, I feel like I could make it. I could make it my own.

[Jamie Loftus]

And is that what you're doing now or where are you at now?

[William Hung]

The first few years, when I. After I decided to quit my job, I still remember it was around the 20. 2020, right before the pandemic. It was rough. I moved from LA all the way to Florida because I knew a friend there, you know, because at the time it was hard to find a house where I could do that. The singing, the cameo, to earn the money. Because if I moved to another place, I could have the same problem. Not many people could put up with that. But at the place I moved to, it was a big house, very. The room was very. Was pretty far away from other people.

[Jamie Loftus]

So how long did you stay in Florida? Are you still there? Did you move back to California?

[William Hung]

Yeah, so I stayed in Florida for about two years. And then after I recovered from the COVID I gradually also started earning some extra money from poker. Everything was good. I earned. I earned really good money, more than my job, you know. And then. And then eventually another friend reached out to me, you know, that she said, like, maybe, you know, maybe it's time for you to consider Las Vegas, you know, because Las Vegas would be a upgrade from Florida for sure, you know, especially. Especially from Play for Playing Poker. And I got a pretty good deal on the house at the time. So I was like, okay, let's try. Let's do. Let's go for it. And then.

[Jamie Loftus]

So you moved to Vegas?

[William Hung]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So about two years I moved to Vegas. And then. And then reality started to set in. My entertainment business was not as good as before. The poker competition's a lot harder over there, so I wasn't Doing so good.

[Jamie Loftus]

And then did you stay in Vegas or did you go back to California or.

[William Hung]

At one point I was so. I was again desperate. I knew I shouldn't do this, but I somehow. But I was desperate. Maybe I can. I hope I was. I could get lucky. I got into other forms of gambling and then, like. And then I really shot myself in the foot. So.

[Jamie Loftus]

Been very open over the years, you know, like having struggles with. With gambling and trying to find a healthy way for it to exist within your life. That seems like. I mean, I know that that is such a tricky thing to have to work through, especially if you're living in Vegas.

[William Hung]

Yeah. Yeah. Like mental. Mentally. Like, at the time, I was. I was thinking about how to. How do I get back to the. To the top. Former glory. But. But I, I realized that's not a good way. It's not a healthy way to look at it. You know, I already should be grateful for everything I have. So we know why I want to throw everything away. So that's, that's, so that's, that's the thought that really helped me change. And then, then I decided, okay, what can I do now that's going to be better for me? Well, and then I thought, well, you know what? Let's stop the gambling. Let's put aside, you know, let's use my math skills for doing. To do something good. Right time, right. Right timing. I had another chance to get back to the sheriff's department in Los Angeles, in la, and that's why I moved back. Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

At the sheriff's department.

[William Hung]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

How are you doing now? How are you feeling these days? You've come truly full circle in these last 20 years.

[William Hung]

Yes, for sure. I feel very good. And then I'm. I'm happily married now, finally. Yeah. After the, you know, the past marriages, that didn't quite work out either. So it was. It's a long, like you said, full circle, you know?

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah.

[William Hung]

Now. Now I still do my entertainment. I still do it on the side, a side gig. It's all good. And then I. I also started a new business, you know, help helping people with insurance. And the primary motivation for me is that I want to know what I'm paying my money for. Because it's America. Everybody needs insurance. Where is my money going? Is this worth it? What am I paying for?

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah. Looking back on 20 years ago, two different questions. Do you have any regrets about 2004 and how you view that period changed over time?

[William Hung]

No regrets at all. Because in life, you want to make the best decision based on the information, you know, at the time. Not later, not before, at the present. At that time I got more than what I could possibly I could ask for. Already. I'm very grateful for the experience. I feel that experience will, you know, it gives me a unique, healthy perspective, you know, how to handle adversity no matter what happens. And no matter what happens, I feel like I can get back up.

[Jamie Loftus]

Looking back on it, the way you were treated by the media at different points, it just makes my fists ball up. You're just like, you've managed everything so beautifully. You've always been yourself and it was such a pleasure to talk to you.

[William Hung]

If you want to find out what I'm up to, you can find me on Instagram and LinkedIn.

[Jamie Loftus]

William Hung, thank you so much for joining me. This was so much fun.

[William Hung]

You're welcome.

[Jamie Loftus]

Thank you so much to William Hung for his time and his openness. I'm incredibly grateful and remain a lifelong fan. You can check out what he's up to and all of his social media at the links in the description. What I really admire about William is his gentleness. His essence has remained consistent through the years even as the world judged and built and destroyed all of these different narratives around him. Here he is in March 2004, just weeks after becoming famous.

[William Hung]

Are you good at the civil engineering? I'm struggling as well with civil engineering. I'm struggling with pretty much most of the things I do in my life. But no, you got what you need to all of you for us to understand is that everybody goes through struggles to succeed.

[Jamie Loftus]

This was a kid, a 21 year old, thrust into the spotlight and trying to keep things light. But there were forces moving against William from the jump. His story is singular and while he doesn't resonate with a lot of the narratives pushed onto him, as we've talked about in our interview, anti Asian racism as well as the general brutality of American reality tv, I do think they're worth exploring with people who did resonate with those narratives. The 2000s was a uniquely fucked time for mask off discrimination and exploitation in the public sphere. And I wanted to talk to people who have either worked in that space or lived through it. And so in part two of our William Hung episode, we'll be talking to Nancy, Nancy Wang Yun and OG Reality TV editor and fan of this very show, Steve Flack. That's next week on 16th minute. And for your moment of fun, the full, the necessary no sex allowed. Bye. I'm sitting around minding my business Something's wrong and I don't know what it is My girl comes around she's an Oedipus rex she starts playing with me all she wants is sex but take it from me, hear what I say I don't need that There's a better way so I promise her love as she strings along? Cause sex is weak and love is strong no sex allowed I I don't.

[William Hung]

Wanna be part of your crowd no.

[Jamie Loftus]

Sex allowed and if you don't like it, get out of town. I do the second verse.

[William Hung]

Is that okay?

[Jamie Loftus]

16Th minute is a production of Cool Zone Media and iHeartRadio. It is written, hosted and produced by me, Jamie Loftus. Our executive producers are Sophie Lichterman and Robert Evans. The amazing Ian Johnson is our supervising producer and our editor. Our theme song is by Sad13. Voice acting is from Grant Crater and Pet shout outs to our dog producer Anderson. My cats Flea and Casper and my pet rock bird who will outlive us all. Bye. With Kroger brand products you can get all of your favorite things this holiday season. Because our proven quality products come at exceptionally low prices and with a money back quality guarantee, every dish is sure to be a favorite. From sweet sugar cookies and holiday ham to that perfect slice of pie. Whether you shop, delivery, pickup or in store, Kroger Brand has all your favorite things. Kroger Fresh for everyone.

[William Hung]

Hey there, it's Scott Patterson from I Am All In Again. Podcast Life Short Talk Fast Stream Gilmore Girls on Hulu. That's right, grab your coffee and get cozy because all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls are now on Hulu. Stream all the witty, banner, heartwarming moments and awkward Friday night dinners with Lorelei, Rory and the eclectic mix of characters. Whether you're re watching or going Gilmore for the first time, Hulu has you covered. It's a show. It's a lifestyle. It's now streaming on Hulu.

[Jamie Loftus]

Have you ever considered becoming a surrogate? At My Donor Connection, you can help a family bring their baby home while earning $50,000 or more. Use your compensation to pay off debt, save for a home or achieve your dreams. We're looking for women who loved being pregnant and want to help others experience parenthood with unmatched support. Every step of the way, your journey will be life changing. Take the first step today.

[William Hung]

Today.

[Jamie Loftus]

Visit mydonorconnection.com surrogate to complete our quick questionnaire and see if you qualify. That's mydonorconnection.com surrogate now on BET Wednesdays at 109 Central. BET Original Series Diora from Detroit from executive producer Kenya Barris and BET Studios comes what Variety calls a PI drama with flair. Meet Diara Brickland, a public school teacher turned amateur private eye after the disappearance of a very hot date. With the help of her friends and even her ex husband, D? Ara's on a mission to find her missing lover. Diara from Detroit is now on BET Wednesdays at 10, 9 Central, Thursday on ABC. Get ready to move that bus. The beloved series Extreme Makeover Home Edition is making a triumphant return to kick off the new year. Join the makeover mavens Joanna Teplin and Cliche here as they hit the road on a mission to transform lives of deserving families. They have just four days to rally communities, demolish old homes and rebuild not just houses but lives. Extreme Makeover Home Edition premieres Thursday at 8, 7 Central on ABC and will be available to stream next day on Hulu.