Inspiration (William Hung album)
Encyclopedia
Inspiration is the debut album of William Hung
recorded following the early 2004 broadcast of his failed American Idol
audition where Hung received notoriety and a cult following.
The album was recorded the weekend of March 6, 2004, with Hung singing vocals over karaoke
music. The album includes a 40-minute DVD
documentary entitled A Day in the Life of a Small William Hung.
To promote his album, Hung performed before nearly 20,000 fans during half-time at a Golden State Warriors game on April 6. Later that week, he performed his signature song, "She Bangs", on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared on The Today Show.
and debuted on the Billboard
200 albums chart at #34, selling 37,676 units during its first week.
Hung's album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Independent Album chart.
It was, however, universally panned by critics.
William Hung
William James Hung Hing Cheong , commonly known as William Hung, is an American singer who gained fame in early 2004 as a result of his off-key audition performance of Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the television series...
recorded following the early 2004 broadcast of his failed American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
audition where Hung received notoriety and a cult following.
The album was recorded the weekend of March 6, 2004, with Hung singing vocals over karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
music. The album includes a 40-minute DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
documentary entitled A Day in the Life of a Small William Hung.
To promote his album, Hung performed before nearly 20,000 fans during half-time at a Golden State Warriors game on April 6. Later that week, he performed his signature song, "She Bangs", on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared on The Today Show.
Reception
It was released on April 6, 2004 by Koch EntertainmentKoch Entertainment
Koch Entertainment was a music, film and television distribution company. It was purchased by E1 Entertainment in 2005 and now operates under the name E1 Entertainment.-History:The company began in 1975 as Koch International...
and debuted on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
200 albums chart at #34, selling 37,676 units during its first week.
Hung's album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Independent Album chart.
It was, however, universally panned by critics.
Track listing
- "William Hung Words of Gratitude"
- "She BangsShe Bangs"She Bangs" is a song performed by Ricky Martin, from his 2000 album Sound Loaded. An up-tempo, salsa-influenced song with double entendres about the singer's infatuation with a woman, Martin's recording earned him continued crossover success around the world.The song was co-written by Desmond...
" (originally by Ricky MartinRicky MartinEnrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
) - "BailamosBailamos"Bailamos" is a Latin pop song from singer Enrique Iglesias, sung in English and Spanish. It was the debut single of Iglesias in the English-language market, and attained immense success, reaching the #1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100....
" (originally by Enrique IglesiasEnrique IglesiasEnrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
) - "William Hung's Inspirational Thoughts" (Passion)
- "I Believe I Can FlyI Believe I Can Fly"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R.....
" (originally by R. KellyR. KellyRobert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
) - "Hotel CaliforniaHotel California (song)"Hotel California" is the title song from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Frey...
" (originally by Eagles) - "Can You Feel the Love TonightCan You Feel the Love Tonight250px|thumb|right|Simba and Nala embrace during the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sequence."Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film, The Lion King, composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. It was described by Don Hahn , Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff as...
" (originally by Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
) - "Two WorldsTwo Worlds (song)"Two Worlds" is the name of a song by English singer Phil Collins for the soundtrack of the 1999 film Tarzan. The song is the opening song to the movie, however the song is used multiple times throughout the film. As such the song appears four times on the soundtrack.-Charts:...
" (originally by Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
) - "William Hung Inspirational Thoughts" (Perseverance)
- "Rocket Man" (originally by Elton John)
- "Free" (original song by Saul Alvarez)
- "Keep on Dancin'" (originally by Gary's GangGary's GangGary's Gang was an American funk/soul/R&B/disco group who just missed having a U.S. Top 40 hit, when their lone Billboard Hot 100 entry, "Keep on Dancin'", reached #41 in 1978...
) - "Circle of LifeCircle of LifeThe song was re-recorded in 2003 by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, a group of actors and actresses who have appeared in Disney Channel television series and original movies...
" (originally by Elton John) - "William Hung Inspirational Thoughts" (Happiness)
- "YMCA" (featuring The GonnabeesThe GonnabeesThe GonnaBees are a pop trio of three girls from New York City; Sara, Nicole and Kaella. They hit number one in the New York charts with their song Queen of Pop, a song that makes fun of current pop singers such as Britney Spears, Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson among others...
) (originally by The Village People) - "Shake Your Bon-Bon" (originally by Ricky Martin)
Personnel
- William Hung – vocals
- Joshua Gilfand – guitar
- Oba Frank Lords, Saul Alvarez – percussion, background vocals
- Giuseppe D. – producer
- Pepe, Mauro DeSantis, Christopher Young – programming
- The Gonnabees, Jesika Pate, N'Gai – background vocals