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Rebecca Black

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Rebecca Black

Rebecca Black is an American teen pop singer who gained worldwide notoriety with her 2011 single "Friday" through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song received negative critical response, with many music critics and viewers dubbing it "the worst song ever."[1][2][3] The negative criticism and use of social media can be credited for Black's notoriety. The music video, uploaded to YouTube, has received over 130 million views[4] including over 2.5 million dislikes as of May 2, 2011, causing Black to gain international attention as a "viral star."[5]

Early life

Rebecca Black was born on June 21, 1997,[6][7] in Anaheim Hills, California.[7] She is the daughter of John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly, both veterinarians,[8][9] and is of Spanish, Italian, Polish, and English descent.[10] An honor student,[7] Black studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA.[7]

Music career

In late 2010, a classmate of Black and music-video client of Ark Music Factory, a Los Angeles label, told her about the company.[11] Black's mother paid $4,000 for Ark Music to produce her daughter's music video while the Blacks retained ownership of the master.[9] The single, "Friday," written entirely by Ark, was released on YouTube and iTunes. The song's video was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011, and received approximately 1,000 views in the first month.[7] The video went viral on March 11, 2011, acquiring millions of views on YouTube in a matter of days, becoming the most-talked-about topic on social networking site Twitter,[12] and garnering mostly negative media coverage.[13] As of May 5, the video had received more than 2.5 million dislikes on YouTube compared to about 350,000 likes.[14] As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by Billboard.[15] Black appeared on the March 22, 2011 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it.[16] The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively.[17][18] In the UK, the song debuted at number sixty-one on the UK Singles Chart.[19]

By March 25, Black hired a publicist and a manager. Her manager confirmed that he has been contacted by songwriters and record labels with ideas for more songs and an album.[20] In an interview with The Sun, Black said that she is recording a new song called "LOL," which is considered for release as a single, and material for her debut album at Flying Pig Productions studio in Los Angeles.[21] However, on her official Twitter account, Rebecca announced that the song will not be called "LOL."[22] At least one celebrity news website reports that no new single is in the works, citing Black's manager saying "Rebecca does not have a new single titled 'LOL.' Just to be clear she does not have any new single recorded at this time." [23] She is currently working without a record deal. She also said that the album would contain songs with themes similar to that of "Friday", as she wants it to be "appropriate and clean."[21] Black teamed up with Funny or Die on April Fools Day (the site was renamed Friday or Die) for a series of videos, including one which addresses the controversy about the driving kids in her music video, stating "We so excited about safety."[24] She has also stated that she is a fan of Justin Bieber, and expressed interest in performing a duet with him.[25]

Death threats

In response to the YouTube video of "Friday," Black began to receive death threats in late February, specifically by phone and email.[26] While there were a number of negative, and many violent, comments on the YouTube video itself, none of the comments were specific to Black or direct in their threat of violence. These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.[citation needed]

Discography

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions
AUS
Digital
[27] 		CAN
[28] 		IRL
[29] 		NZ
[18] 		UK
[19] 		US
[30]
"Friday" 2011 40 61 46 33 60 58

Awards and nominations

MTV O Music Awards

The MTV O Music Awards are one of the major annual awards established by MTV to honor the art, creativity, personality and technology of music into the digital space.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2011 50 Cent, Rebecca Black, Bert Favorite Animated GIF Nominated

References

  1. ^ Whitworth, Dan (2011-03-21). "'Worst song ever' gets 29m views after going viral". BBC. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  2. ^ Pierce, Tony (2011-03-18). "Rebecca Black, teen singer, admits she cried when her hit song was deemed 'Worst Song Ever'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  3. ^ AFP (2011-03-22). "'Worst song ever' tops 30 million views". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  4. ^ "Rebecca Black 'Friday' Beats Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber On YouTube". gigwise.com. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  5. ^ Wei, William (2011-04-01). "op Viral Videos of the Week: Rebecca Black 'Friday'". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. ^ Black, Rebecca (2011-03-21). "Twitter: Rebecca Black (verified account)". Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  7. ^ a b c d e Larsen, Peter (2011-03-17). "O.C.'s Rebecca Black Talks About Friday". The Orange County Register. Freedom Communications. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  8. ^ Hall, Stan (2011-03-25). "As 'Friday' finally fades, a look back at an old little meme". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  9. ^ a b Belkin, Lisa (2011-03-25). "An Internet Star's Mom Responds". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  10. ^ Black, Rebecca. "Tweet". Official Twitter. Twitter.com.
  11. ^ Lee, Chris (2011-03-17). "Rebecca Black: 'I'm Being Cyberbullied'". The Daily Beast. The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  12. ^ Gello, Lee-Maree (2011-03-15). "Rebecca Black Friday Song Is Top Twitter Trending Topic Youtube". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  13. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (2011-03-15). "Why Rebecca Black's Much Mocked Viral Hit Is Actually Good". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  14. ^ "Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". YouTube. 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  15. ^ Peoples, Glen (2011-03-22). "Rebecca Black's First Week Sales High But Not In Millions". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  16. ^ Rebecca Black (performer) (2011-03-22). "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Trust, Gary (2011-03-23). "Lady Gaga, 'Glee' Songs Dominate Hot 100". Billboard. New York: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  18. ^ a b "Rebecca Black – Friday". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-03-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ a b "Official UK Singles Top 100 – 2 April 2011". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  20. ^ Mitchell, Gail; Peoples, Glenn (2011-03-25). "Rebecca Black Looks To Move Beyond 'Friday'". Billboard. New York: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  21. ^ a b "Rebecca Black following 'Friday' with 'LOL' single and album". New Musical Express. Time Inc. 2011-03-26. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  22. ^ Black, Rebecca. "Tweet". Official Twitter. Twitter.com.
  23. ^ "UPDATE: Rebecca Black ISN'T Recording A New Single Called 'LOL!' Exclusive". hollywoodlife.com. Mail.com Media Corporation. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  24. ^ Angelo, Megan. "'Friday or Die': Rebecca Black takes over Funny or Die". Business Insider. Silicon Alley Insider, Inc. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  25. ^ "Rebecca Black to Justin Bieber: 'Would you do a duet with me?'". The Ampersand. Retrieved 16th April 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. ^ Wright, David. "Rebecca Black, 'Friday' Singer, Receiving Death Threats". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  27. ^ "Top Digital Track Chart". Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  28. ^ "Nielsen Canadian Charts Update" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  29. ^ "GfK Chart-Track". Irish Recorded Music Association. GfK. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, 71–80". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-03-31.

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