The good news for "American Idol" fans is that you may not have seen the last of William Hung.

The bad news for "American Idol" fans is that you may not have heard the last of William Hung.

"American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe admits that they're anxious to get the Bay Area belter back for a mid-series special tentatively titled "Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented."

"We're just going to have fun with it, like we did last year with 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' and ask him what it was like to go through the audition process and come out the other side a star," Lythgoe says.

Hung's rise to stardom and Internet notoriety has been one of the strangest side effects of the new season of the FOX reality smash. A student at the University of California, Berkeley, Hung arrived at the show's San Francisco auditions and performed what can most generously be described as a somewhat spastic, somewhat tone-deaf rendition of the Ricky Martin hit "She Bangs."

Even more endearing than the unintentionally comedic cover, was Hung's insistence that he had never had any vocal training, judge Simon Cowell's mock amazement and the contestant's casual and gracious acceptance of the criticism.

Rather than fading into the woodwork with countless other failed "Idol" candidates, Hung has become a celebrity. Despite initial protestations that his new fame embarrassed him, the civil engineering major has begun making public appearances and his "She Bangs" performance has been passed around the Internet in a number of remixed forms. The website www.williamhung.net has gotten millions of hits and Hung was impersonated by Jimmy Fallon on "Saturday Night Live."

It's a trend that Lythgoe loves.

"In the U.K. we have supported losers for a long time, probably because we don't get that many winners nowadays," he laughs. "Now, all of a sudden, I'm watching the celebration of a certain Mr. William Hung, out of San Francisco, who people love ... That's fantastic to me, because not everybody in this life can be winners and to celebrate a loser is fantastic."

While there are online petitions advocating Hung's return to the show as a contestant, it seems unlikely that he'll get that golden ticket, even for the Wild Card round. Perhaps that "Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented" appearance could lead to future cameos.

"I don't know what the future holds," Lythgoe says. "He's gonna be called to do things and if he's happy to do them, that's great. He shouldn't give up Berkeley. Obviously, he's an extremely intelligent guy and realizes that this could be his five minutes of fame."