Where Is Viral ‘Friday’ Singer Rebecca Black Now?
Most people know Rebecca Black from her viral video, “Friday,” but the singer is ready to move on from her reputation as a meme. From a debut album to a new relationship, Black is ready to become a legitimate music industry star.
How ‘Friday’ made Rebecca Black a viral star
Black was just 13 years old when “Friday” was released. The teen was an aspiring pop star and paid Los Angeles record label ARK Music Factory $4,000 to write and produce a single for her, as well as make a music video.
The video quickly blew up online, inspiring parody versions, late night television jokes, and a large amount of online vitriol directed at Black. There were some upsides to her overnight fame, though.
The highs and lows of Rebecca Black’s fame, from appearing in Katy Perry videos to dealing with online hate
“It was such a crazy time of incredible highs and incredible lows,” Black told NPR about that moment in her life. “Like, I would spend the morning reading everything that was being said about me on the internet, and then I would get picked up and driven to somewhere in the Valley to shoot the Katy Perry music video. Or win a Teen Choice Award, which as a 13-year-old is, like, the biggest achievement.”
The singer did acknowledge that the online hate took a toll on her. “If somebody says ‘you don’t belong here, you’re bad at this, you’re a disgrace for even trying to do something like this,’ those words have such a different intensity when you’re a child because you just believe them,” she said.
It was hard to convince record labels to sign her
According to Black, her overnight fame actually made it harder for her to get a record deal. 12 years passed between “Friday” and the release of her debut album.
“As an independent artist for a long time, it was hard to convince anybody that it was even worth it for me to do that,” she explained. “Of course, I guess I could have just put out something on SoundCloud and called it a day. But I knew that I wanted to do something that was bigger than that.”
Black started her musical comeback in 2021, with the release of an EP titled Rebecca Black Was Here. The following year, she released the singles “New Moon,” “Crumbs,” and “Look At You.” In 2023, Black dropped her debut album, Let Her Burn.
“This album is just as good as everything else that’s out there right now,” Black said of her latest project. “This album can compete. And I as a performer can compete with all the other pop stars that are in this realm. That was really important for me. I feel that way about myself and where I’m at now. And whether or not other people agree or disagree will be up to them.”
Black also revealed that she’s currently in a relationship. Her girlfriend is a music producer who was living abroad when “Friday” came out, so she didn’t know about Black’s meme status.
