by John Atchison

Created on: April 27, 2009

Train Wrecks. When it comes to American Idol, just as many people tune in to see who will be the next big flop as much as they are to see who will be the next big thing. Maybe its those initial first weeks that get the country into this feeding frenzy for bad singing, or maybe its just the need for a good, hearty laugh so early in the new year, but the numbers bear this out. The most highly watched episodes of the show, besides the finale, are those initial ones that show us not only who "is going to Hollywood", but also whose going down in the "Hall of Shame". With that said, let us take a look at 4 idol wannabes who definitely had no business on a stage singing.

In my book, the worst performance in the history of this show has got to be William Hung. For those of you that do not remember him (and it can only be you do not watch TV), Hung was a contestant in 2004, and appeared on the stage to give us a stirring rendition of the Ricky Martin song "She Bangs". The only bang that took place with this performance though was the judge's eardrums. His performance had Simon shaking his head, with Paula and Randy hardly able to contain themselves. Simon let him have it, at which point Hung indicated that he was happy with his performance, and had done it without any formal musical or dancing training. Simon would say, "there's a surprise" and the rest was history. He became an instant sensation for standing up to the Idol bad boy, went on to make 3 records, and tons of guest appearances on late night shows. He later gave up college to pursue a musical career. Thankfully, he is back in school now.

Next up on the wall of shame was a gentleman by the name of Steven Thoen. You thought Hung was a piece of work, this guy had him beat. I watch this clip whenever I need a good laugh, and it always provides one. When he appeared on the Idol stage, Simon asked him whom he most sounded like. Steven responded that he was very much along the same lines as famous Queen front man, the late Freddie Mercury. He then proceeded to state he would be singing Bohemian Rhapsody for the judges. I don't think that he was 15 seconds into the song when Paula and Randy were on the floor. They literally laughed through his whole performance. He sang in a completely weird voice, with very high pitches, trying of course to mimic the way the song is in the beginning. At the end, Simon could only say that it was the weirdest thing he had ever heard, and that was being kind. Needless to say, he did

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