Thou shall not make for yourselves an idol

So Chief Justice Roy Moore might not approve, and Paula, Randy and Simon already cast their "No" votes, but the rest of the country seems to be sidestepping these authorities and creating their own Idol out of UC Berkeley student William Hung.

If you were (un)fortunate enough to miss Hung's audition on the Fox show "American Idol," let me describe his rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" in a word, "awful." Still, he won the hearts of countless Americans that night with a breathtakingly gracious response to being told, by Simon of course, "You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want me to say?”

Hung's response? “I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all.” We cheered in my house, and apparently we weren't alone. If you're unfamiliar with his story, check out just one of the websites that's sprung up chronicling his rise to cult hero status: http://williamhung.net/

Comments

[Timmy the Wonder Dog]

Eddie, I have enjoyed your posts. Congratulations!

[Edward]

Thanks Timmy,

I've been avoiding the more serious issues until I have some time to do some indepth research, but I'm working on a few.

Appreciate the feedback.

[Thorley Winston]

If you were (un)fortunate enough to miss Hung's audition on the Fox show "American Idol," let me describe his rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" in a word, "awful."

Maybe it was largely that he picked awful material to work with ;)

[Edward]

Maybe it was largely that he picked awful material to work with ;)

No doubt, but who could have imagined anyone could make it sound worse? Hung rose to the challenge.

[wilfred]

Ellen had him on her show and they were doing karaoke together. The audience went nuts for him.

[Jordan]

American Idol is one of my guilty pleasures on TV - I shouldn't like pablum like this, but I do. It's not all teenyboppers, it's grand human drama in the form of teenyboppers. Plus they pull in some great music, in addition to the saccharine pop (they had a Motown night last season).

The show kind of reminds me of the documentary Hands on a Hard Body. Absurdism, kitsch, and arthurian romance combine in an East Texas radio contest.

[sidereal]

"I shouldn't like pablum like this, but I do."

I thought it was kind of fun for a while, but then I saw the one for kids. . American Idol Junior? something like that. . and the song-and-dance numbers were a bunch of McDonalds commercials. Seriously. . the kids were gussied up in McDonalds gear, dancing around a McDonalds, singing about how sweet and wonderful and healthy McDonalds is. Disturbing, so I tuned out.

[Edward]

OK, just for the record, I'm not the one in my house who considers "American Idol" must-see TV...although, I'm very happy about having caught William Hung's audition.

[Bird Dog]

I saw the guy sing a few bars on Olberman's show. The poor sap is a truly awful singer, but you couldn't help but like the kid.