--- title: Worst American Idol Auditions description: American Idol Season 15 is the last season so we remember the best worst auditions from William Hung to Pants on the Ground canonical: https://time.com/3853664/worst-american-idol-auditions-cancelled-fox-last-season/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-11T18:14:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:19:38.114Z og:title: Here Are the 9 Worst 'American Idol' Auditions Ever og:description: American Idol Season 15 is the last season so we remember the best worst auditions from William Hung to Pants on the Ground og:url: https://time.com/3853664/worst-american-idol-auditions-cancelled-fox-last-season/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the 9 Worst 'American Idol' Auditions Ever twitter:description: American Idol Season 15 is the last season so we remember the best worst auditions from William Hung to Pants on the Ground twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Here Are 9 of the Worst _American Idol_ Auditions Ever > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer May 11, 2015 6:14 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer May 11, 2015 6:14 PM UTC In light of the news that the [next and 15th season of _American Idol_](http://time.com/3853612/american-idol-canceled-last-season-fox/) will be its last, take a look back at the best of the worst auditions. ### “She Bangs” William Hung was a civil engineering student at Berkeley when he achieved viral fame in 2004 with a painfully off-key version of “She Bangs” by Ricky Martin. Despite having no professional training, Hung developed a cult following, landed a record deal and [released three albums before retiring](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/19/american-idols-william-hung-where-is-he-now/print/) from music and becoming a statistical analyst at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. ### “Pants on the Ground” In 2010, an Atlanta man who called himself General Larry Platt performed a song he wrote called “Pants on the Ground” about men who “look like a fool” in sagging trousers. He didn’t make the competition, but he did [become a meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pants-on-the-ground), inspiring numerous parodies, including spoofs by Jimmy Fallon—who sung it as Neil Young—and Brett Favre, who, as quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, led a rendition in the team’s [locker room](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,63442179001%5F1956943,00.html). ### “Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)” Judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul had to cover their faces to hide their laughter at James Lewis’s rendition of “Go Down Moses” [in 2008](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/american-idol-the-complete-guide-to-season-seven-20080529/american-idol-gallery-audition-jan-15-2008-james-lewis-49802975). ### “Panther Man” In [his 2007 audition](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=20070207&id=52tPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oAQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5552,1710707&hl=en), Martin Manoukian whipped off his shirt and crawled on the floor, meowing and snarling, because he was convinced he was a panther—a build-up to his audition song “Sweetest Princess” that judge Simon Cowell called “horrific.” ### “Bohemian Rhapsody” Steven Thoen of Seattle (aka “Red”) told Simon Cowell he is as good a singer as Queen’s Freddie Mercury. ### “Tearin’ Up My Heart” After 23-year-old Kenneth Briggs from Bothell, Wash., performed the NYSNC hit, Cowell said he looked “a little odd… like one of those creatures who live in the jungle with those massive eyes. What are they called? Bush baby.” The jab [raised questions](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/arts/television/19idol.html?%5Fr=0) about whether the judge’s critiques had hit a new low, but Briggs—along with Jonathan Jayne, another aspiring contestant who got dinged—ended up going to Super Bowl festivities in 2007 with _Jimmy Kimmel Live!_ ### “Lady Marmalade” Claiming to be a professional clairvoyant, Isadora Furman thought a spot on _American Idol_ was in the cards even though she admitted that sometimes when she sings in public she gets “arrested.” Cowell on the other hand, thought her audition was “fantastically terrible.” ### “Unchained Melody” Nicholas Zitzmann, a 27-year-old software engineer from Midvale, Utah, won over the judges with a cringeworthy version of “Unchained Melody,” which Simon has said is his favorite song. ### “I Feel the Earth Move” ### Cowell called Mary Roach, who sang the classic Carole King hit, one of the worst singers he had ever heard. Roach then told the judges she hears “a ton” of “different voices,” including one that said, “I didn’t know the judges on _American Idol_ would actually think I was terrible.” At the 5-minute mark of this clip, she has a profanity-laced breakdown, insisting the judges were wrong. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3853664/worst-american-idol-auditions-cancelled-fox-last-season/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3853664/worst-american-idol-auditions-cancelled-fox-last-season/"},"headline":"Here Are 9 of the Worst American Idol Auditions Ever","datePublished":"2015-05-11T18:14:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:19:38.114Z","description":"From William Hung to the \"Pants on the Ground\" guy","url":"https://time.com/3853664/worst-american-idol-auditions-cancelled-fox-last-season/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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