In 2011, most of us were just becoming obsessed with YouTube videos and surfing the Internet on a daily basis. You probably don’t remember March 14, 2011 but this was the day that changed most of our lives (the dramatic effect is totally intentional). Remember that dreadful song sung by once-a-viral-hit Rebecca Black? Yes, I am talking about Friday. This song, as awful as it is, meant the skyrocket to stardom for Ms. Black.
Even though it was one of the most viewed videos in 2011, it was also one of the most disliked. Critics simply hated the lyrics and haters made a laughing stock out of Black so bad, that Ark Music – the label that produced it – took the video down. However, not everything was bad because it was also acclaimed by Forbes and Rolling Stones since it demonstrated the vast power Social Media has on our daily lives.
Unfortunately, this article is not about reliving the powerful – yet cringe-worthy – song that is Friday. It is to talk about how this one girl, who at one point was cyber bullied over the song, got over it and is now one of YouTube’s sensations. Rebecca Black now has a little over 1.3 million subscribers on her YouTube channel where she covers songs, offers fashion advice and does challenges with her friends.
Rebecca didn’t listen to the hate comments talking about “how horrible and auto-tuned her voice was” and kept on singing. Her older videos, especially a Royals cover, prove that she doesn’t mind the haters and that she is singing either way. You go girl! She did release a new single, The Divide, where she wanted to prove everyone how wrong they were about her voice and singing career goals. If you want my opinion as the writer of this article…I think it is amazing!
Related: Celebrities & Cyberbullying: It’s Still Not Okay
Rebecca Black with Friday is the living proof that the past is not necessarily everything you are now. It’s there, in the past, and there are ways of getting over it. Be it by singing amazing duo covers of Jon Bellion songs with a cute guy by your side, being a badass and singing Drake or being an angel and covering Alessia Cara’s best song – well, one of them anyways.
Haters are definitely gonna hate but it is up to you, as an individual, to make the best of it. Let us all be like Rebecca, who didn’t listen, who even viewed her video two and a half years later and thanked the opportunity, who recorded a sequel to the song and basically told everyone: “I don’t care what you say, I am doing amazing…how about you?”