WASHINGTON (AFP) ― A song by a California teenager that has been mercilessly panned by music critics has topped 30 million views on YouTube and rocketed up Apple’s iTunes charts.
“Friday,” sung by 13-year-old Rebecca Black, was uploaded to YouTube last month by Ark Music Factory, a Los Angeles-based company that was hired by the girl’s parents to produce the song for their daughter.
“It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday, everybody’s looking forward to the weekend,” the chorus goes. “Partying, partying, partying. Fun, fun, fun, fun. Looking forward to the weekend.”
The video attracted scant attention until a popular comedian linked to it on his blog 10 days ago saying “Songwriting Isn’t for Everyone.”
As the tune began to attract attention on YouTube, a Yahoo! music blog called it a “mind-meltingly horrific song” and asked readers “Is YouTube Sensation Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ The Worst Song Ever?”
Time magazine described “Friday” as a “train wreck” and the video as “hilariously dreadful.”
A screen capture shows Rebecca Black singing “Friday” in her YouTube video clip. (YouTube)
The poor reviews only fueled more interest in the video and it has become a viral hit, racking up millions of YouTube views, spawning a slew of parodies on the video-sharing site and making Black an Internet sensation.
A total of around 17,000 YouTube viewers have hit the “like” button on YouTube for the song while the vast majority ― 133,100 ― have gone for “dislike.”
“Friday” was nonetheless number 45 on the iTunes list of best-selling 99-cent singles on Monday.
Amid the deluge of venom, Black has shown considerable poise and dignity in interviews and appearances in which she has addressed her numerous detractors.
The aspiring singer told ABC’s Good Morning America that some of the comments had made her cry.
“When I first saw all these nasty comments I did cry,” Black said. “I felt like this was my fault and I shouldn’t have done this and this is all because of me.
“Now I don’t feel that way,” she said.
“I think I have talent on some level,” Black told Good Morning America. “I don’t think I’m the worst singer but I don’t think I’m the best singer.”
Asked who she would most like to sing a duet with, the YouTube star said Justin Bieber, the Canadian teen idol who was also discovered on YouTube.
‘최악의 노래’ 유튜브 조회수 3천만건 기록
캘리포니아 출신 13세 소녀 가수 레베카 블랙 (Rebecca Black )이 부른 노래 ‘프라이데이(Friday)’는 비평가들 사이에서 최악의 노래로 평가 되었지만 유튜브에서는 조회수 3천만 건을 기록하고, 아이튠스에서도 인기몰이 하고 있다.
한 코미디언은 자신의 블로그에 블랙의 뮤직비디오를 포스팅하고 “가사는 아무나 쓰는게 아니다” 라고 언급했다.
그리고 타임지는 이 노래에 대해 “전복한 열차 잔해 (train wreck)”이라고 부르며 뮤직비디오는 아주 “우스꽝스러울 정도로 끔찍하다(hilariously dreadful)”라고 악평을 했다.
한편 유튜브에서는 이 노래에 대해 ‘좋아요’를 누른 사람수는 4만 5백명 정도이며, 싫다는 사람은 34만명 정도로 싫어하는 사람이 다수를 이루었다.
한편 레베카 블랙은 ABC의 굿모닝 어메리카라는 쇼에 나와 자신의 노래에 대한 사람들의 평가 때문에 울기도 했다고 털어놓았다.
블랙은 사진이 최악의 가수는 아니지만 그렇다고 최고의 가수도 아니라고 생각한다고 말하며, 듀엣으로 노래를 부르고 싶은 가수로 캐나다 출신 팝 아이돌인 저스틴 비버를 꼽았다.
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