''Inspiration'', originally planned to be ''True Idol'',Patel, Joseph (March 9, 2004)
William Hung Idol-ized With Record Deal, Remixes

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. Accessed from June 8, 2013. is the debut full-length studio album by

William Hung William Hing Cheung Hung (; born January 13, 1983) is a Hong Kong motivational speaker and former singer who gained fame in 2004 as a result of his unsuccessful audition singing Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the ...

, a former hopeful ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' contestant. The album was recorded at

Fantasy Studios Fantasy Studios was a music recording studio in Berkeley, California, at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums including Journey's ''Escape'' and Green Day's ''Dookie''. Built as a private recording studio for ...

and released by

Koch Entertainment Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company Entertainment One in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Inter ...

, now

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

in 2004, after his audition. Although the album was commercially successful, it received a highly negative critical reception due to Hung's poor vocals and the sound of the

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

tracks used in this album.

Development

The album was recorded following the early 2004 broadcast of his failed ''Idol'' audition where Hung received notoriety and a cult following, and released on April 6, 2004, by

, now

. The album was recorded the weekend of March 6, 2004, with Hung singing vocals over digital

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

music, with real musicians occasionally playing as well. The album was put together in 5 weeks. The album includes a 40-minute

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

documentary entitled ''A Day in the Life of a Small William Hung''.

Release and commercial performance

Two weeks before the release of ''Inspiration'',

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

did a "Pre-Release Teaser" where they sold four tracks from the album. The tracks received a total of 25,000 downloads. To promote the 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 ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and appeared on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

''. The album peaked on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 200 albums chart at No. 34, selling 37,676 units during its first weekWilliam Hung's Debut Album 'Inspiration' Debuts at #1 on the Billboard Independent Album Chart and at #34 on the Billboard Top 200.

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

. April 14, 2004. Accessed from June 6, 2013.Paulsen, Wade (April 14, 2004)
'Idol' reject William Hung's CD 'Inspiration' debuts at #34 in U.S. sales charts
realitytvworld.com. and peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Independent Album chart. The album was the fifth best seller at Trans World stores, and at

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...

was No. 14, behind

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...

.Moss, Corey (April 12, 2004)
William Hung's Sales Figures Are Nothing To Laugh At

. Accessed from June 6, 2013. The album has sold a total of 200,000 copies.Navarro, Mireya (March 4, 2007)
Missing: Asian-American pop stars

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. Accessed from June 8, 2013.

Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

gave ''Inspiration'' one star out of five, but adding it was still worth a chuckle or two for those wanting a laugh, "since it has some of the worst singing ever captured on record". He also said that the album should have been a four-track single or

Extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, because "there are really only four tracks of note and that's about all that anybody could take of this anyway." The album was scored by

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's Chris Cale a 0.5 out of ten, remarking that Hung smattered other musicians' hits, took the time to "carefully destroy each and every one" and that Hung's "music is a cacophony of wrong-notes, stoic delivery and shoddy rhythm", warning readers not to buy the album. David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', who graded the album an F, said that it "adds a particularly ugly race card" to the tradition of "

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

to schizophrenic indie-rock icon

Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Wil ...

Track listing

#"Words of Gratitude" ''(original song written by Hung)'' #"

She Bangs "She Bangs" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his sixth studio album, ''Sound Loaded'' (2000). The song was written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by Afanasieff a ...

" (''originally by

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

'') #"

Bailamos "Bailamos" ( en, "We Dance") is a single by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias sung in Spanglish. The song was released in 1999 as part of the soundtrack to the film ''Wild Wild West'' (1999) and later as the lead single from Iglesias's fourth and ...

" (''originally by

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

'') #"Inspirational Thoughts: Passion" ''(original monologue by Hung)'' #"

I Believe I Can Fly "I Believe I Can Fly" is a song written, produced, and performed by disgraced American singer R. Kelly from the soundtrack to the 1996 film ''Space Jam''. It was originally released on November 26, 1996, and was later included on Kelly's 1998 a ...

" (''originally by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

'') #"

Hotel California "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came ...

" (''originally by

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

'') #"

Can You Feel the Love Tonight "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995 it won the Academy Award for Best Original So ...

" (''originally by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

'') #" Two Worlds" (''originally by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

'') #"Inspirational Thoughts: Perseverance" (''original monologue by Hung)'' #" Rocket Man" (''originally by Elton John'') #"Free" (''original song written by Hung and Saul Alvarez'') #"

Circle of Life "Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King''. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M. (opening vocals ...

" (''originally by Elton John'') #"Inspirational Thoughts: Be Yourself" #"

Y.M.C.A. YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

" (featuring The Gonnabees) (''originally by

The Village People ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'') #"

Shake Your Bon-Bon "Shake Your Bon-Bon" is the third single taken from the second self-titled album by Ricky Martin. It was released on October 12, 1999. It was later sent to radio stations in the United States on November 1, 1999. The U.S. maxi-single includes ...

" (''originally by Ricky Martin'')

Personnel

*William Hung – lead vocals (all tracks), songwriting (tracks 1, 4, 9, 11) *Joshua Gilfand – guitars, bass *Oba Frank Lords - percussion, backing vocals *Saul Alvarez – drums, songwriting (track 11) *Giuseppe D. – synthesizers, production *Pepe, Mauro DeSantis, Christopher Young – additional production *The Gonnabees, Jesika Pate, N'Gai – backing vocals

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2004 debut albums William Hung albums E1 Music albums