After his spirited audition to be the next American Idol, he won the support of many fans, ironically, based on his perceived lack of musical talent.

[2][3][4] He brought his own career as a musician to an end when in 2011 he accepted a job opportunity as a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and decided to pursue law enforcement.

[5][6] After growing up in the Sha Tin district of British Hong Kong, Hung moved with his family to the Van Nuys area in Los Angeles, California, at age 11.

[15] While studying civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, Hung auditioned for the third season of American Idol in San Francisco in September 2003, becoming the final auditioner on the show of January 15, 2004.

A William Hung fan site, set up by realtor Don Chin and his wife Laura, recorded over four million hits within its first week.

Hung was featured in several national magazines and newspapers; he was parodied on Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Celebrity Deathmatch, and The Fairly OddParents.

Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season special titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented, airing March 1, 2004.

Hung appeared in commercials for the search engine Ask.com, the Game Show Network (spoofing Freddie Mercury and singing an off-key "We Are the Champions"), as well as the mobile phone service provider Cingular Wireless.

[20] After a semester-long attempt at teaching high-school math,[23] in 2011, Hung became a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,[10] and retired from music.

[27] Commentator Emil Guillermo claimed that Hung may not have gained as much attention had he been of another race, and his popularity may be derived from his being a representation of the Asian stereotype, characterized by nerdiness, bucked teeth, studiousness, speaking with a strong "fresh off the boat" accent, and lacking singing talent or rhythm.

Documentary filmmaker James Hou commented, "As Asian Americans, we look through this racial lens, and we see this guy who embodies all the stereotypes we're trying to escape from.

[29] Ron Lin, former editor in chief of the UC Berkeley's Daily Californian asserts: "It's really difficult for Asian American males to break through and (Hung) may not be the most appealing example.

"[30] Amber Eliza Watts suggested that Hung's cult following derived from him being the antithesis of everything Idol represented, with his lack of musical talent and odd looks, and how unlike other audition failures he was not arrogantly expecting to be made a pop star, he just wanted to sing.