Internet surfers back in the early 2010s would be familiar with a lot of pop culture artists we'd recognize today. At the time, big names Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, and Taylor Swift were just starting to make waves in pop music.
However, one other artist also made waves back then, but it attracted the wrong kind of attention. You may remember her appearing in Katy Perry's music video for her song "Last Friday Night (TGIF)."
That artist is Rebecca Black, the then infamous singer of the song, "Friday," which was ridiculed due to Black's use of autotune and monotony.
Rebecca Black in the 2010s
In 2013, then 14-year-old Rebecca Black appeared as the artist for the calendar-inspired song, "Friday," which featured the life and fun a teenager would experience on Friday and the weekends. However, the song was not written by Black but by Patrick Wilson, the founder of the now-defunct music firm, Ark Music Factory, per Know Your Meme.
According to The Atlantic, Black's mother had paid $4,000 to make the song. However, the reason why Black's mother wanted to have her daughter on Ark Music Factory's roster of artists may be due to her belief in Black's singing ability.
Black's "Draw My Life" video mentioned that she felt she was meant to be in her school's musical theater program due to its attendees welcoming her on the first day and being "just as weird" as she was.
In this program, she met a friend who made a Youtube music video under Ark Music Factory in 2010. When Black saw how cool it was, she asked her mom if they could meet with the firm and make their music video, to which her mom said yes.
Black then mentioned that Ark gave her a pre-written song to sing for the music video, which turned out to be Friday, and for $4,000, Black and her family would have all the rights to the chosen song. Although Black's mother had doubts about the lyrics, Black assured her that "she sang it as they wrote it," according to the Daily Beast.
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Her music video came up on September 17, 2011, but it didn't garner attention at all until a month later, when the music video was featured on The Daily What on March 11, 2011. From there, the video was reblogged and shared by various discussion forums and even mainstream media programs like The Daily Beast.
During this time, people from across the world got to watch her music video. Some of them appreciated Black's song and singing capabilities. Still, most of the audience agreed that her voice was too monotonous and that the extensive use of autotune made it hard to enjoy.
The negative comments became increasingly worse. Black thought she had become the target of cyberbullying. Black became so bullied at her school that her parents decided to homeschool her to help her focus on her career.
A Good Morning America report mentioned that in the survey they conducted, 76% of the respondents believed that the negative comments Black experienced were justified.
Unfortunately, the negative comments took their toll on Black, drowning her in depression and low-self esteem. At 17 years old, the kids at her school three food at her friends and her.
Black mentioned that she didn't go to Ark Music Factory to promote herself but just to experience what it's like to be in a recording studio.
She also experienced difficulties and setbacks in her career as a singer.
Rebecca Black After Friday
However, Black persevered and believed that "Friday" does not define her, as she told USA Today.
"You are not defined by any one choice or thing," Black said. "Time heals and nothing is finite. it's a process that's never too late to begin. and so, here we go! this might be a weird thing to post but the honesty feels good if nothing else."
The Rebecca Black of today is now embraced by people who identify with her as the underdog of society, blasting "Friday" on speakers to help them power through dreary school days. She has also posted an original single in 2016 called "The Great Divide," and then an EP in 2017, per The Things.
Black also released a handful of non-album singles in 2019, such as "Anyway," "Do You?" and "Sweetheart," per her IMDb page. She also eventually remixed her Friday music video to better suit modern audiences in 2021.
Black has recently held a concert of her own in West Hollywood at Trobadour, per DoLA.
