Kickin' in the front seat, sittin' in the back seat...

March 18, 2011 8:42 AM

Since You Asked: What Is A "Rebecca Black"? The 13-year-old overnight sensation defends her almost unanimously ridiculed song "Friday" on Good Morning America. The song has also given us a new folk hero, the girl in pink awkwardly dancing in the background, who has responded to the dubious attention by starting her own blog.
posted by hermitosis (42 comments total)

My favorite post from that blog:

xtracy asked: Why are you so awkward?

uh. bc i’m 13. (:
posted by hermitosis at 8:46 AM on March 18, 2011 [9 favorites]

I only managed about 30 seconds of that song and that was 30 seconds too much. Apparently she feels that she's being cyberbullied.
posted by Fizz at 8:46 AM on March 18, 2011

When read back comments found online telling Rebecca to go “cut herself” or “get an eating disorder,” Rebecca said, “It doesn’t bother me.”

Welcome to the internets Rebecca. The water's fine, but the sharks sometimes bite.
posted by three blind mice at 8:47 AM on March 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

The definition of "best of the web" ain't what it used to be.
posted by storybored at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Fun fact: Rebecca Black's track was actually a cover of a little-known Bob Dylan song.

It has also been expertly performed by Matt Mulholland.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2011 [6 favorites]

YouTube is the 21st century's freak show. Step right up and gawk at this week afternoon's featured attraction!
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2011

You know I have a lot to say abou-

OK! NEWS: REBECCA BLACK’S “FRIDAY” IS “CREEPIN’ ON UP” THE ITUNES CHART!

Oh shit, that was jarring. But anyway, let me continue my thoughts regarding this subje-

OK! NEWS: REBECCA BLACK — “FORGET BIEBER FEVER, I’VE GOT THE BLACK PLAGUE”

Fuck. How does internet work?

OK! VIDEO: REBECCA BLACK’S YOUTUBE VIDEO — DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE “FRIDAY” HYPE?
posted by Think_Long at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2011

No "LOL"s? How can this be real? Or is LOL no longer what "the kids" say?

Rebecca Black's Friday, previously
posted by filthy light thief at 8:48 AM on March 18, 2011

Lyrically, it's about Lady Gaga level, so I'm not sure what all of the hating is about.
posted by ReeMonster at 8:49 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

What a perfect post for FRIDAY FRIDAY

FUN FUN FUN
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:50 AM on March 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

It's not any worse than anything on most albums by Britney, Rihanna, Xtina, Gaga, or Ke$ha.
posted by blucevalo at 8:50 AM on March 18, 2011

Oh wow, it's a double already? I missed it the first time around (busy thread, too). There is nothing new under the sun.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:51 AM on March 18, 2011

Yeah there was a post 5 days ago. Throw the ABC chum links in a comment and kill this post.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:51 AM on March 18, 2011

Did that TV journalist in the 2nd link, who presumably gets paid for what she does on what I presume is national television, just describe Rebecca Black as "totally famous"?
posted by jontyjago at 8:51 AM on March 18, 2011

Not a double, my prior post was about the one song, not the Rebecca Black Experience and apparent Rise To (Internet) Fame.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:52 AM on March 18, 2011

Rebecca Black's Friday, previously

Yeah, and I would have found that post if people used tags effectively. USE TAGS, PEOPLE!

Still, my post was on Friday, so it should stay and the other one should be deleted.
posted by hermitosis at 8:52 AM on March 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

It's a horrifically powerful earworm... was rattling around my head again this morning... because of course it's 'Friday! Friday!'

At least Black, judging from glancing at her Twitter account, is'nt taking it too seriouslt (or she's had good advice not to appear to)... 'Fried Egg or Cerial?' she asked her follwers
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:52 AM on March 18, 2011

Apparently she feels that she's being cyberbullied.

What, it's suddenly "bullying" when a bunch of assholes tell a girl less than half their age that she should seriously harm herself just because she recorded an annoying pop song?

Oh, right, I forgot. This is the internet, where compassion and human decency go to die.
posted by Zozo at 8:52 AM on March 18, 2011 [4 favorites]

(good point on the tags. other one obviously needs rebeccablack.)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:53 AM on March 18, 2011

USE TAGS, PEOPLE!

Can we put this on a metashirt!?
posted by Fizz at 8:53 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I kind of feel like I'm shaking my cane and telling people to get off my lawn here, but when did kids start looking so old? At least the awkward dancing girls still have braces, that helps some. It's not just the ones glammed up for music videos, either, I see them in real life, too. When I was 13 (and doing awesome things like watching Snick and wearing corduroy overalls) I still looked very much like a child. These lady-girls kind of freak me out.
posted by phunniemee at 8:53 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

When I was a teenager my angst triggers were more complex than where I would sit in the car.

That said, I was an aggressive caller of "shotgun".
posted by chavenet at 8:53 AM on March 18, 2011

Black is your new Internet God (take that Ga Ga). There can never be enough posts. Never.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:55 AM on March 18, 2011

Holy shit. That screen cap from Good Morning America with Rebecca Black's talking head above a card that reads WORST VIDEO IN THE WORLD? almost resulted in a mouthful of coffee on my monitor. How ridiculous.
posted by TypographicalError at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

What, it's suddenly "bullying" when a bunch of assholes tell a girl less than half their age that she should seriously harm herself just because she recorded an annoying pop song?

She is the one that wanted fame. Assholes will always be assholes and it's awful that people would suggest such things to a young teenager but she is the one that wanted to be famous, this is just a part of the package.
posted by Fizz at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2011

I've been laughing at and having fun with this video all week, and the Good Morning America video had a weird tone of "It's a great pop song and people are being unfair and vicious." I'm really having trouble seeing this as cyber bullying, unless she's getting creepy phone calls or constant emails. Just people on forums saying mean things? Presumably she made the video and released it to the public because she wants fame on some level. If it makes her feel any better, Justin Bieber gets death threats and harsh criticism on the internet every minute of his life.
posted by naju at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2011

I never thought RebeccaBlack would become an actual, you know, thing. Prior post now mended.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Didn't mean to harsh you, filthy light thief. I am honestly just surprised I missed the post the first time around. In a week her face will be the background image on all websites, including mefi.
posted by hermitosis at 8:59 AM on March 18, 2011

God, that song is horrible. Reminds me of the fake videos of Robin Sparkles on How I Met Your Mother. Except, ya know, those are fake and intentionally bad...

Robin Sparkles - Let's Go To The Mall
Robin Sparkles - Sandcastles In The Sand
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:59 AM on March 18, 2011

> She is the one that wanted fame. Assholes will always be assholes and it's awful that people would suggest such things to a young teenager but she is the one that wanted to be famous, this is just a part of the package.

Victim-blaming a 13-year-old girl, huh? Stay classy.
posted by Zozo at 8:59 AM on March 18, 2011

That video is terrible.
posted by vibrotronica at 9:00 AM on March 18, 2011

She is the one that wanted fame.

Is she? I was under the impression her parents arranged this for her, and while she might've thought it was cool on some level she never seemed to be earnestly enjoying herself in the video. The whole thing was (apparently) fabricated by Ark Music Factory and the Black family silver spoon. Another product of the child-starlet industry in Los Angeles.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 9:00 AM on March 18, 2011

It's alarming if you look at the other videos under that username on Youtube. They are all terrible, and after you look at two or three, they start to look really creepy. How insidious fame has become lately. What does it mean? It's all bullshit. Those of us who spend our lives honing our craft in music, be it on a classical or rock or ethnic instrument, or voice, should be appalled by this fucking crap.
posted by ReeMonster at 9:01 AM on March 18, 2011

I'm actually pretty impressed with the 13 year old in pink and her blog. I hope she's really as sanguine as she seems to be about everything.

dontfuckaround- asked: so, from rebecca's song i found out that there thursday, then friday, then tomorrow is saturday and sunday comes afterwards, but what is next. i'm so confused, her song didn't teach me the next day :?

ikr! not cool. i’m in suspense too! (:
posted by maudlin at 9:01 AM on March 18, 2011

Jeez, scanning Ms. Black's personal twitter restores my faith in the youth of today. She really comes off as a good kid.
posted by infinitewindow at 9:02 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Whatever adult is responsible for this is a Terrible Person.

"FUN FUN FUN" is really the bit where it goes from sugary kiddy pop to Loftcraftian horror.
posted by Harry at 9:03 AM on March 18, 2011

It's funny how her speaking voice in the ABC interview sounded Autotuned.

I watched the video and laughed, too, but I think it's good/bad in the same way those overly Photoshopped rap album covers are. Seemed like a nice enough girl if a little spoiled by parents who'd pay for this, but I hope she makes a million bucks off this and gets to meet Justin Bieber and keeps on smiling like all the people who have watched her video and laughed.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:03 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is she? I was under the impression her parents arranged this for her, and while she might've thought it was cool on some level she never seemed to be earnestly enjoying herself in the video.

I disagree. If a kid really doesn't want to do something, they always find a way of not doing it. Some part of her wants this attention. That doesn't mean she deserves the death threats and the hate, but she needs to grow up and accept that this is a part of the deal that comes with fame and celebrity.
posted by Fizz at 9:03 AM on March 18, 2011

(good point on the tags. other one obviously needs rebeccablack.)

Ah, the other post now does have lots more tags. I suspect this one is a goner. Last?
posted by mrgrimm at 9:04 AM on March 18, 2011

10 Lyrically, it's about Lady Gaga level

20 Precisely!

30 I'm not sure what all of the hating is about

40 GOTO 10
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:04 AM on March 18, 2011

I'm having a hard time with the difference between this and the allegedly good songs/videos in the same genre.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:05 AM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

USE TAGS, PEOPLE!

The tag system, as implemented, does not work. User A puts tags 1, 2 and 3 on while User B puts on or searches for tag 4. An actual tag system works on a folk taxonomy, where *anyone* (or at least a lot of someones) can add tags. That way there's a good chance that one of the tags that User Z wants to search for was added by one of the Users A-Y.
posted by DU at 9:05 AM on March 18, 2011