http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0
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."
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.
"I have Bieber fever," she said. "I am in love with Justin
Bieber."
