Friday by Rebecca Black

2011

Date: 10 February 2011 upload, viral 11 March 2011 · Place: Ark Music Factory, Los Angeles · Figures: Rebecca Black, performer at thirteen · Patrice Wilson, Ark Music Factory songwriter · Clarence Jey, producer · Tags: Pay-To-Play Pop, Hate Watch, YouTube Native 01. A Four Thousand Dollar Music Video Rebecca Black, a thirteen year old from Anaheim Hills, California, records Friday with Ark Music Factory, a pay-to-play vanity label run by Patrice Wilson and Clarence Jey. Black's mother pays 4,000 dollars for the song and accompanying music video, uploaded to YouTube on 10 February 2011. On 11 March 2011 the comedy site Tosh.0 features the clip. Within a week it accumulates 30 million views, becoming the most-discussed pop artifact of the year. 02. Hate-Watch As Mainstream Mode Friday formalizes hate-watching as a mainstream consumption mode. The song reaches number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the basis of paid downloads from viewers who acquire it specifically to mock it. Black, then thirteen, receives death threats. She speaks publicly about the experience for the next decade and re-releases a queer-affirming remix of the song in February 2021 with Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, and 3OH!3 for the tenth anniversary. Sources • KnowYourMeme, 'Friday' • Rebecca Black, original YouTube upload (10 February 2011) • The New York Times, 'Rebecca Black, Pop Star Whose Song Friday Went Viral, Survived Online Hate' (5 February 2021)