Lily Kazemi
Reporter
If you haven’t heard the latest YouTube video gone viral, you must be living under a rock. 13-year-old Rebecca Black’s “Friday” has become one of the most-watched, and most-mocked, videos on the site. With over 33,000,000 views as of earlier today, almost ten percent of America has heard the song.
The music video:
Video by trizzy66
What is it that makes this song so appealing? Is it Rebecca’s need to teach us the days of the week, simply by listing their relation to Friday? Is it the fact that 13-year-olds are driving cars late at night on the highway? Or is it the pedophile of a rapper who comes in halfway through the song, smiling as he rhymes about passing school buses? Personally, I love her use of auto-tune and the fact that the hook of the song is about how she can’t decide where to sit in her friend’s car, despite the fact that there’s only one empty seat. Here’s a hint, Rebecca: take that one.
The song has been dubbed “The Worst Song Ever” by several different music critics, and I agree – how can you write such a terrible song about such a wonderful day? They’ve auto-tuned her voice so much that she sounds like a robot, and the terrible lyrics (seriously, Rebecca? “Gotta have my bowl/gotta have cereal”? SERIOUSLY???) have spawned many parodies.
Rebecca’s video allowed me to discover a whole new type of music that requires it’s own category: Ark Music Factory girls. Basically, it’s a company that charges the parents of 11- 17 year old girls $2,000 to produce a “catchy” song and music video. While some of them are adorable (Alana Lee’s “Butterflies” makes me smile), some are just as hilarious as “Friday” (Kaya’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Mind” features 15-year-olds partying in clubs).
The song has been so popular that Rebecca was even interviewed on Good Morning America, where she said that comments on her video made her cry. Now, when I first heard the song, all I could think was, “how much worse can this get? Some people need to learn that they just. Can’t. Sing.” But then she proved herself. On the show, she sang an impromptu version of “Star Spangled Banner” and, while she isn’t Stevie Nicks, she certainly doesn’t make me admire Paris Hilton as a singer anymore. She was actually kind of… not bad.
Basically, what I’m saying is, give this girl a break. “Friday” might sound like a cat scratching the chalkboard, but Rebecca is just 13 – and, like any 13-year-old, she made a mistake. A huge mistake.
Listen to the video below (and don’t forget to buy the song on iTunes! Bex is already at #42!)
Rebecca’s Interview with ABC:
Video by AfricanDancersENT
