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Rebecca Black

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Rebecca Black
Born (1997-06-21) June 21, 1997 (age 27)
Anaheim, California, U.S.
GenresTeen pop, bubblegum pop, dance-pop, pop
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active2010–present
LabelsRB
Websiterebeccablackonline.com

Rebecca Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with her 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory.[1] The song was co-written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Factory. After the video went viral on YouTube and other social media sites, "Friday" was derided by many music critics and viewers, who dubbed it "the worst song ever."[2][3][4] The music video received around 167 million views, causing Black to gain international attention as a "viral star," before being removed from the site on June 16.

Biography

Rebecca Black was born on June 21, 1997,[5][6] in Anaheim, California.[6] She is the daughter of John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly, both veterinarians,[1][7] and is of Spanish, Italian, Polish, and English descent.[8] An honor student,[6] Black studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA.[6] In 2011 Black left public school in favor of homeschooling, both in response to constant verbal bullying at school and in order to focus more of her time on her career.[9]

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.[10] Black's mother paid $4,000 for Ark Music to produce her daughter's music video while the Blacks retained ownership of the master.[1] 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.[6] 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,[11] and garnering mostly negative media coverage.[12] As of June 14, 2011, the video had received more than 3,190,000 "dislikes" on YouTube compared to more than 451,000 "likes".[13] As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by Billboard.[14] On March 22, 2011, Black appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it.[15] The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively.[16][17] In the UK, the song debuted at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart.[18]

In an interview with The Sun, Black said that she is recording a new song for possible release as a single. She is currently working without a record deal. She also said that she is preparing materials for her debut album at Flying Pig Productions studio in Los Angeles containing songs with themes similar to that of "Friday," as she wants it to be "appropriate and clean."[19] 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."[20] She has also stated that she is a fan of Justin Bieber, and expressed interest in performing a duet with him.[21]

In response to the YouTube video of "Friday," Black began to receive death threats in late February 2011, specifically by phone and email.[22] These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.[23]

In March 2011, Ryan Seacrest reportedly helped sign Rebecca to manager Debra Baum's DB Entertainment.[24]

MTV selected Rebecca to host its first online awards show, the O Music Awards Fan Army Party in April 2011.[25] As an homage to "Friday," Black appears in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),"[26] in which Black plays alongside Perry as the hostess of a party Perry attends. "Friday" was also performed on the second season of Glee in the episode, "Prom Queen," which originally aired May 10, 2011. When asked about why the song was covered on Glee, show creator Ryan Murphy replied, "The show pays tribute to pop culture and, love it or hate it, that song is pop culture."[27]

Black released a self-produced single titled "My Moment" on July 18, with an accompanying music video, publishing it to her YouTube channel; the video met with mostly unfavorable ratings, as of August 22 it has received, approximately, 520,000 "dislikes" against 300,000 "likes." [28] She is also set to release a digital 5-track EP in August.[29]

Black appears as herself in the music video of Katy Perry's single "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". She appears as the host of a party in the house next door to that of "Kathy Beth Terry". At the end of the video Perry attempts to blame the excesses of the party (which had subsequently moved to her own house) on Black, only for her parents (Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson) to disbelieve her.[30] Later on, Perry (in character as Kathy Beth Terry) and Black hosted a livestream on Tinychat.com after weeks of Black being mentioned on Terry's twitter.[31] Perry, who performs Friday routinely on stage as part of California Dreams Tour, also brought Black on stage to perform the song as a duet during her show at the Nokia Theater on August 5, 2011.[32]

On August 10, 2011, Rebecca Black was featured in an ABC Primetime Nightline: Celebrity Secrets special entitled Underage and Famous: Inside Child Stars' Lives.[33]

RB Records

Following her split from Ark Music Factory after a dispute on the ownership and distribution of "Friday", Rebecca Black established her own independent record label RB Records. The first release on the new label was "My Moment", the follow up single to "Friday".

Discography

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
[34] 		AUS
Digital
[35] 		CAN
[36] 		IRL
[37] 		NZ
[17] 		UK
[18]
"Friday" 2011 58 40 61 46 33 60 TBA
"My Moment" — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Awards and nominations

In April 2011, the MTV O Music Awards, one of the annual awards established by MTV to honor the art, creativity, personality and technology of music into the digital space nominated "Which Seat Can I Take?" for "Favorite Animated GIF" that included footage by Rebecca Black featuring 50 Cent and Bert.[38] Black was named "Choice Web Star" at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in August 2011.[39]

Year Nominated work Event Award Result
2011 "Which Seat Can I Take?"
(50 Cent, Rebecca Black, Bert) 		MTV O Music Awards Favorite Animated GIF Nominated
Herself 2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice Web Star Won

References

  1. ^ a b c Belkin, Lisa (March 25, 2011). "An Internet Star's Mom Responds". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  2. ^ Whitworth, Dan (March 21, 2011). "'Worst song ever' gets 29m views after going viral". BBC. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  3. ^ Pierce, Tony (March 18, 2011). "Rebecca Black, teen singer, admits she cried when her hit song was deemed 'Worst Song Ever'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  4. ^ AFP (March 22, 2011). "'Worst song ever' tops 30 million views". ABC News Australia. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  5. ^ Black, Rebecca (March 21, 2011). "Twitter: Rebecca Black (verified account)". Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e Larsen, Peter (March 17, 2011). "O.C.'s Rebecca Black Talks About Friday". The Orange County Register. Freedom Communications. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  7. ^ Hall, Stan (March 25, 2011). "As 'Friday' finally fades, a look back at an old little meme". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  8. ^ Black, Rebecca. "Tweet". Official Twitter. Twitter.com.
  9. ^ "Rebecca Black opts for homeschooling after taunts". New York Post. August 10, 2011
  10. ^ Lee, Chris (March 17, 2011). "Rebecca Black: 'I'm Being Cyberbullied'". The Daily Beast. The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  11. ^ Gello, Lee-Maree (March 15, 2011). "Rebecca Black Friday Song Is Top Twitter Trending Topic Youtube". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  12. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (March 15, 2011). "Why Rebecca Black's Much Mocked Viral Hit Is Actually Good". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  13. ^ "Rebecca Black - Friday (Official Video)". YouTube. February 10, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  14. ^ Peoples, Glen (March 22, 2011). "Rebecca Black's First Week Sales High But Not In Millions". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  15. ^ Rebecca Black (performer) (March 22, 2011). "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Trust, Gary (March 23, 2011). "Lady Gaga, 'Glee' Songs Dominate Hot 100". Billboard. New York: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Rebecca Black – Friday". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ a b "Official UK Singles Top 100 – 2 April 2011". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  19. ^ "Rebecca Black following 'Friday' with 'LOL' single and album". New Musical Express. Time Inc. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  20. ^ Angelo, Megan. "'Friday or Die': Rebecca Black takes over Funny or Die". Business Insider. Silicon Alley Insider, Inc. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  21. ^ "Rebecca Black to Justin Bieber: 'Would you do a duet with me?'". The Ampersand. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  22. ^ Wright, David. "Rebecca Black, 'Friday' Singer, Receiving Death Threats". ABC News. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  23. ^ "Rebecca Black Death Threats Under Investigation". Uk.eonline.com. April 19, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  24. ^ "Rebecca Black Gets Career Boost From Ryan Seacrest". Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  25. ^ Curran, Aimee. "Rebecca Black Says O Music Awards Had 'Great Energy': Online sensation also talks about her 'awkward' newfound fame". Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  26. ^ Billboard.com
  27. ^ Halperin & Goldberg, Shirley & Lesley. "'Glee' Cover of Rebecca Black's 'Friday,' Explained". Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  28. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OxWD85Ngz4
  29. ^ Billboard: Rebecca Black to Self-Release New Single 'My Moment,' EP
  30. ^ Music-mix.ew.com, Katy Perry, T.G.I.F.
  31. ^ http://www.katyperry.com/tag/tinychat/
  32. ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/viralvideos/katy-perry-brings-rebecca-black-onstage-1005308462.story
  33. ^ Canning, Andrea (2011-08-09). "Rebecca Black, YouTube Sensation Turned Award-Winning Pop Star, Talks About Growing Fame and Harassment". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-08-010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  34. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, 71–80". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  35. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 28 March 2011" (PDF). Pandora Archive. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  36. ^ "Nielsen Canadian Charts Update" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  37. ^ "GfK Chart-Track". Irish Recorded Music Association. GfK. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  38. ^ "O Music Award for Favorite Animated GIF". Tj.mtv.com. April 26, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  39. ^ Mendoza, Nadia (August 8, 2011). "A baby Gaga in the making? US actress Lucy Hale makes a fashion statement with heelless shoes at Teen Choice Awards". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved August 8, 2011.

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