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'Worst song of all time' becomes YouTube sensation

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

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Friday, a song by US teen singer Rebecca Black, has gone viral after the song's music video was uploaded onto video sharing website YouTube. The video has attracted over thirty-five million views since its February 10 upload — and critics think it could be the world's worst.

I want to meet her. Anyone who can create this much controversy within a week, I want to meet. I love people like that.

—Simon Cowell

Ark Music Factory produced the song and video, using US$2,000 (£1,223, C$1,964, €1,412) from Black's mother. Friday's video was shot at Black's father's house, with her family and friends as extras. The song beat an alternative track when choosing what to record.

The single is climbing up the iTunes singles chart in the United Kingdom and the United States, gaining a higher position in the US than Canadian singer Justin Bieber.

Despite the song's popularity, it has received a largely negative reception. According to Newsbeat, critics have cited Friday as being "the worst song of all time." On YouTube, the video attracted approximately thirty-six thousand 'likes' versus over 314,000 'dislikes'. The song itself has been ridiculed for its lyrics and criticised for its use of Auto-Tune.

Feeling "like [she was] being cyber-bullied," Rebecca Black said "[w]hen I first saw all these nasty comments I thought this is all my fault, ... this was all because of me." Black says of "[t]hose hurtful comments", the worst was "I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get an eating disorder so you look pretty. I hope you cut and die." Clarence Jey, of Ark Music Factory, offered to take the video off YouTube, but Black declined.

In contrast, British music executive Simon Cowell has expressed a positive interest in Rebecca Black. "I love her and the fact she's gotten so much publicity," Cowell commented. "People are so upset about the song, but I think it's hysterical. I want to meet her. Anyone who can create this much controversy within a week, I want to meet. I love people like that."

Rebecca Black herself wants to record a duet with Justin Bieber. "I have Bieber fever — I am in love with Justin Bieber," Black commented. The teenager said it "would be unbelievable and make my life".


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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
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