Greetings:

Although DeWester made some valid observations, e.g. - William Hung is intelligent --- then I have to ask why would he participate in something like this?

By the comments he makes during his appearances (and during the spoken segueways on his CD) he seems to really believe that he has truly made it in the music biz. Such an out of touch remark for one supposedly so smart.

But, I have to ask --- where will this guy be in six months from now?

In my eyes --- it is truly sad that someone would allow themselves to be so readily exploited for even five minutes of fame. But, for WILLIAM HUNG, it will be infamy, and not stardom that will be how he is remembered.

I find it very interesting that Reg compared HUNG to BRITNEY SPEARS --- another notoriously bad singer. I watched her Miami concert that was on recently --- and it was atrocious!! Of eighteen songs, she lip-synched sixteen of them. But, now that her handlers have adopted the Madonna model of ramming her down our collective throats --- it is clear that she will be around for many years to come.

WILLIAM HUNG is but the latest example of how far we have fallen in our popular culture. I cannot remember of another person this bad who has achieved this amount of stardom this fast. With his success, we might be getting more of this sort of thing in the future. While garbage like this makes the charts, David Baerwald languishes without a record deal of his own --- how fair is this?!?!?

Also, WILLIAM HUNG represents the BUSINESS side of music, and certainly not artistry and talent.

The fact that for $25,000 --- the record company will turn a tidy profit of more than a half million dollars --- assuming that 100,000 copies are eventually sold. With 60,000 copies already sold, the company has already made a ridiculous profit off of this junk.

However, with all due respect to Jeff DeWester --- the success of WILLIAM HUNG will only lead to more HUNG types being signed --- and not more Abra Moore types. Norah Jones' success will lead to more Abra Moore types in the future.

Ultimately, WILLIAM HUNG is nothing more than a novelty. True, that $25,000 may pay for some of his graduate school --- but, I have heard him mention that he has already started taking singing lessons --- which strikes me as slightly delusional.

After a visit to WILLIAM HUNG's website --- I was shocked at how crass this thing had become. Fans can buy all the usual marketing bric-a-brac --- as if he were The BEATLES or something like that. Another thing that surprised me were the sheer numbers of remixes of HUNG's ninety seconds of network television infamy.

For as far as American Idol is concerned --- WILLIAM HUNG will assure that loads of horrible singers will be hoping for that shortcut to fame, just like their hero WILLIAM. Following the adage that all publicity is good publicity --- Simon Cowell and partner Simon Fuller will be laughing all the way to the bank.

By the way, it was Simon Fuller that brought the SPICE GIRLS to the world, and Simon Cowell was responsible for the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS record, which sold a quick million copies. Additionally, reading all of the acts that Simon Cowell helped put on the charts --- none of them were nothing more than the flavor of the moment.

Caveat Emptor and "you get what you pay for" certainly apply here.

However, I imagine the joke or the novelty of WILLIAM HUNG wearing thin very quickly.

KDB = Buffalo, NY USA