William Hung has gone too far

[sublime]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=8&u=/ap/20040531/ap_on_en_mu/people_william_hung

Now he's singing at Baseball games. His album has sold around 100,000 copies already. This guy is making big bucks and gaining lots of fame for being the worst singer on earth.

And yet this guy is taking his singing career serious! He spoke on American Idol of trying to improve and learn and yada yada yada as if he's really trying to be good.

I mean, my beef is the absolute absurdity of this man's success. People strive their whole lives with loads more talent than Hung, and yet they never make it out of performing in empty pubs, while he sells exponentially more copies than they do.

I think I might be going a bit too far with this, but does anyone look at this guy as the pinnacle of scorn for capitalism? This guy is the most undeserving of all artists, and yet his success is enormous. Forget working hard, forget improving yourself: be bad and be rich! And what is his appeal? That he's the worst possible singer ever? Are we giving him money so that we can feel a sense of superiority over him or what?

I can't help but scratch my head. This just doesn't make sense...

[Zack Mahdavi]

I agree with you, but it's obvious that he's doing all of this to cash in on some quick money while he can. His fame will die out (quickly), so he's trying to snap up as much money as possible while he's still famous. You can't blame the guy for doing that.

What I find annoying is how American Idol and the entire network is supporting him like this.. his singing might be amusing, but I also think what he's doing is putting a negative, inferior feeling on the entire Asian American community.

Sure, you might think it's just a joke, but are you telling me you're not going to think of William Hung the next time you hear an Asian speak with broken English?

I think William Hung needs to give it up....

[Jon Westfall]

I think we're all just annoyed that this bad singing idiot can afford to buy all the PPCs on the market.... and most of us can't ;(

[Jason Dunn]

I'm with you sublime - it's a travesty of epic proportions that a LACK of talented is celebrated...and the worst part is that in the interviews I've seen with him he doesn't seem to understand that people are laughing AT him, not WITH him. It seems impossible that he hasn't figured that out by now, but when he says he wants to get better, that seems to reinforce the idea that he doesn't understand people "like" him because he SUCKS. 8O

[Jeff Rutledge]

I agree completely. I'm in Toronto right now and they were showing it ad nauseum out here (it was a Blue Jays game). It's embarassing for everyone involved.

[Shadowcat]

As Chinese-Canadians (or Canadian-Chinese?), my cousin and I are disgusted with William Hung. He really embarrasses the heck out of us! :| We have come to the conclusion that people buy William Hung's CD just to get a good laugh. What a waste of money! I'd rather just download it, listen to it once, laugh my head off, and then delete it. :devilboy: Yes, what I am saying is illegal, but I haven't done it and I don't intend to depress myself in that way. Yes, people are laughing at him and not with him, but I'm sure he realizes that. Whatever sells, I guess. :? I can't believe the general public is that silly (ok, I see it all the time, but still...). Consumers should just not buy the CDs and punish American Idol and co.

[Janak Parekh]

I can't believe the general public is that silly (ok, I see it all the time, but still...).
The fact that American Idol is such a huge hit proves that the general public is that silly in the first place. ;) I personally can't take it for more than about 5 minutes. And I've found it interesting to hear it's spawned spinoffs in other countries. 8O

--janak

[Kacey Green]

I guess it wouldn't be such a joke if you could only vote once per phone number, then people would only use their 1-5 votes on the people they think they want to win, but as it stands now the whole "idol" craze is just a stupid joke. :twisted:

[arnage2]

lucky, hes rich because he has no talent.

[Jonathon Watkins]

And I've found it interesting to hear it's spawned spinoffs in other countries. 8O

You do know that the US version is itself a spinoff of the UK version? We've had over it here for a while now - applications are currently open for the third version. :|

[Janak Parekh]

You do know that the US version is itself a spinoff of the UK version? We've had over it here for a while now - applications are currently open for the third version. :|
No, I didn't know that! I'm going to blame you Brits now for each of our lame (i.e., all of our) reality shows. :razzing:

--janak

[Jonathon Watkins]

No, I didn't know that! I'm going to blame you Brits now for each of our lame (i.e., all of our) reality shows. :razzing:

Harsh, but fair. :multi:

I try not to watch them. Thankfully they're not a hit where I currently work. In a previous job they were mad about Big Brother series 2. Never stopped talking about it. 8O

[Fishie]

I can't believe the general public is that silly (ok, I see it all the time, but still...).
The fact that American Idol is such a huge hit proves that the general public is that silly in the first place. ;) I personally can't take it for more than about 5 minutes. And I've found it interesting to hear it's spawned spinoffs in other countries. 8O

--janak

Its a spinoff from Japanese TV to begin with.

[Fishie]

And I've found it interesting to hear it's spawned spinoffs in other countries. 8O

You do know that the US version is itself a spinoff of the UK version? We've had over it here for a while now - applications are currently open for the third version. :|

Nope, Japan where it has existed for over a decade.

[Jonathon Watkins]

And I've found it interesting to hear it's spawned spinoffs in other countries. 8O

You do know that the US version is itself a spinoff of the UK version? We've had over it here for a while now - applications are currently open for the third version. :|

Nope, Japan where it has existed for over a decade.

Nope. :) "Pop Idol" (http://www.popidols.tv/index.stm) came from the UK I'm afraid. The concept has perhaps been around longer.

See here (http://www.fremantlemedia.com/page.asp?partid=12) for more details:
FremantleMedia and 19TV’s reality entertainment format Idols is the televised search for a new national solo pop idol. The format premiered as Pop Idol, produced by Thames and 19TV, on the UK’s ITV in 2001 and was a massive ratings success. The final of the four-month long competition on 9th February 2002 attracted a huge national audience of nearly 14 million viewers, and a share of 57% (72% amongst 16 to 34 year olds). A UK record breaking telephone vote saw nearly nine million calls registered in two hours for the two finalists, Will Young and Gareth Gates – a record only recently broken by Pop Idol series 2. Pop Idol was awarded Europe’s top television award, The Rose d’Or 2002 (The Golden Rose of Montreux). The show also won a prestigious British Academy of Film & Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Entertainment Programme or Series, and went on to scoop top prizes at all the other major national television awards events in the UK.

Idols notched-up incredible ratings in those countries in which it launched for the first time in 2003. For example, in Germany, the final of the locally titled Deutschland sucht den Superstar in March was broadcaster RTL’s highest rated entertainment show for adults 14-49 since 1992, with a peak audience of 7.6 million viewers. In the Netherlands over a third of the entire viewing population tuned into RTL4 to watch the final of Idols in March 2003, making it the highest rating show ever on Dutch television since the start of commercial TV in 1989 (excluding sport and royal events). The final of Idool in Belgium in May achieved an audience share of 75% for Adults 18-44, making it the highest rating show on VTM for five years. In Norway, the final live performance show of Idols on TV2, also in May, achieved an amazing audience share of 82.2% amongst the target audience of 12 to 44 year olds.

Canadian Idol on CTV was the most successful home grown series on Canadian television ever, while Australian Idol: Final Verdict on Network 10 in November was Australia’s highest rating show of the year (excluding the Rugby World Cup), achieving a 79% national commercial share of the 16-39 demographic, and a 65% share for all viewers. There were also fantastic ratings in those countries airing second or even third series of Idols - an incredible 38.1 million viewers watched the final of American Idol 2 on Fox in May 2003. FremantleMedia also saw its first pan-regional production of the Idols format, with a pan-Arabic version, SuperStar, broadcast on Lebanon-based Future TV in a licensed deal.

More than you probably wanted to know. :wink:

Have you got a weblink? I could not find anything about Pop Idol and Japan.

[Kacey Green]

"The Apprentice" wasn't that bad. :|