'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Releasing Follow-Up Single, 'My Moment'
Teen singer of notorious "Friday" takes stab at lasting fame with "My Moment."
July 18, 2011 — -- You may know Rebecca Black as the teenaged YouTube sensation with the viral hit, "Friday."
The tune described an eighth grader getting ready for the weekend, and the video has had a reported 167 million YouTube views. But the earnest clip also prompted death threats against Black, became the target of online derision, mocking parodies and ridicule from late-night comedians.
Even so, Black, 14, will enter the fray again this evening. She is releasing her follow-up single, "My Moment," which documents her rocky rise to fame. The video shows clips of real-life events such as her hosting at MTV's Online Music Awards.
The song will debut on Black's YouTube channel at 8 p.m., as well as on her official website, RebeccaBlackOnline.com. It will be available for purchase Tuesday on iTunes and other online retailers.
Next, the young singer is finishing up a 5-track EP that she will be self-releasing in August.
Whereas the low-budget "Friday" rose up from obscurity to go viral on the Web, "My Moment" has some star power behind it. It was written by Brandon "Blue" Hamilton, who has worked with Justin Bieber and Quinton Tolbert.
Black recently has had other brushes with respected stars.
She worked with Katy Perry on Perry's music video, "Last Friday Night," and evidently Perry is not the only celebrity who has worked with or name-checked her.
According to Black's website, Lady Gaga proclaimed her a "genius" at Google headquarters, Simon Cowell wanted to meet her and Justin Bieber performed "Friday" in concert.
So far in 2011, Black is the most popular topic on Twitter, even passing Bieber, Gaga and Charlie Sheen.
In March, when ABC News' Andrea Canning interviewed Black on "Good Morning America," she said, "I can't tell if I'm awake or not. It's crazy."
But despite the celebrity nods in her direction, Black's song also spurred ruthless ridicule and other attacks.
During Black's "GMA" interview, Canning read her some of the biting comments out there, such as, "Your song 'Friday' is the worst song I've ever heard in my entire life," and, "I hate your voice, it's gonna be stuck in my head for life."
Black said the meanest thing she read online was, "I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get an eating disorder so you look pretty and I hope you go cut and die."
She said she cried at first when she saw the comments and thought it was her fault, but realized that was not the case.
"I have talent on some level," she said. "I don't think I'm the worst singer, but I don't think I'm the best singer."
However, in an online vote, 76 percent of "GMA" viewers said the attacks on Black were not too harsh and only 24 percent thought they were.
For a time, the video that made Black the subject of discussion was no longer available on YouTube for viewing. Black claimed copyright infringement, and the video was removed.
A rep for Black told TMZ, "We can confirm that we submitted a Take Down Notice to YouTube as a result of the dispute we have with Ark Music regarding the 'Friday' video."
Ark Music Factory, the company that put out "Friday," was charging viewers $2.99 for a three-day rental.
On June 14, Black tweeted from her verified account @MsRebeccaBlack, "Thanks for all the messages regarding the $2.00 fee added to Friday video, I have NOTHING to do with this!!" She continued, "PS…My Manager and Lawyer are on this and are going to get to the bottom of this! Stay tuned…"
The video was available soon after the YouTube takedown on a Rebecca Black Vevo page. However, the account was eventually taken down, and "Friday" fans were deprived once more.
Black tweeted on June 20, "The youtube account 'rebeccablackVEVO' is a poser. The cover they posted was a fake. We're working on taking that account down ASAP."
In March, Reuters reported, Black's lawyers accused Ark Music of copyright infringement and unlawful exploitation of her publicity rights.
However, as of ... well, last Friday, "Friday" was back on YouTube -- though not via Black's YouTube channel.
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