What started out as a thirteen-year-old girl trying to put her name out there, turned into a viral sensation that brings with it the world of cyber bullying, name calling, and now, according to ABC news, death threats.
Rebecca Black released her debut song “Friday” in March, and within a week, it had already reached a million views on Youtube, with hundreds of ridiculing comments soaring in every couple of seconds.
Although one might think that an English teacher would be the first to critique Black’s misused grammar in the chorus “Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday,” millions have grown to detest the song, declaring it as the “worst song in the world.”
But once Black began receiving death threats through anonymous phone calls and emails, the California police force was requested to get involved, and Black is now under police custody while they investigate who is behind the threats.
“No wonder Rebecca Black got death threats,” sophomore Brian Mckormick said. “The way she waits at the bus stop only to see her 13 year old ‘fraaans’ that can’t even drive is just insulting the music industry.”
The song, which was written and auto-tuned by Ark Music Factory, is perceived to be any average teenagers’ thoughts on the weekend. With an opening about how prosaic the week can be, and then the built up excitement that strikes once Friday hits.
But some students did not feel the same way.
“Rebecca is horrible, but I think she has to be the luckiest person I know to make money for being that horrible,” sophomore Mathew Arnett said.
On an interview with Good Morning America, Black told Andrea Canning that even if people do not like the song, it is going to be stuck in their head.
“When I first saw all these nasty comments,” Black, on Good Morning America, said. “I did cry. I felt like this was my fault, and I shouldn’t have done this and this is all because of me.”
Rolling Stone magazine called Friday “an unintentional parody of modern day pop.” While Black admitted that this was not a parody, Youtube is exploding with many parodies mocking the song. Even radio stations are adding on to this—on Good Friday, Y100 played its own auto-tuned parody called “Good Friday.” But the general favorite is “Prom night” which, at first, was in debate about whether or not it was even a parody, or just Black’s new song.
“Truthfully, I think her parodies sound just like her, if not better,” sophomore Rachel Altfield said. “Her voice sounds like a mixture between Justin Bieber and Spongebob, and I don’t understand how she couldn’t find any other lyrics besides telling us the days of the week.”
Who is behind the death threats is still in dispute, but in the meantime, Rebecca Black is taking over the media by storm.
As for her fans, some students are actually quite fond of her.
“Rebecca Black is amazing! I love the song Friday, it always get’s me excited for the weekend,” freshmen Harley Weinstien said. “It’s actually a really good song if you keep listening. She shouldn’t be judged so harshly for it.”
