The Girl Who Made Us Hate Fridays

One of the beauties of music is its eclectic nature. This allows artists to mix various bangs and booms, hum nonsense lyrics, and call it all an expression of their uninhibited, free flowing art.


But there are certain times when a song emerges and we shake our heads in astonishment at its ability to even be allowed to fall into the category of "music."


"Friday" is a quintessential example of those instances.


As the debut single from the 13-year-old Rebecca Black, "Friday" is a failed attempt at creating a tween hit by mashing up the most popular and "hip" phrases in just 3 minutes and 48 seconds.


Examples: "getting down," "you know how I do," "gotta be fresh," "kickin' in the front seat," "cruising down the highway," "I got this, you got this," "you know what it is"...need I say more?


Perhaps the writers thought they would find success in combining excerpts from popular rap songs and making a 13-year-old girl chant them to a happy tune. 


With 64 million views (65 million by the time I finish writing this sentence, at the rate its going), "Friday" has become everyone's unavoidable nightmare. We can't escape the "fun, fun, fun, fun," nor can we escape the hype that one girl has brought to the entire internet world.


Beginning with cheap graphics and horrible ad libs of oo's and yeah's, the nothing but laughable "Friday" music video could easily be mistaken for a Saturday Night Live parody of a Selena Gomez tune. But even a Saturday Night Live parody would live up to higher standards than this video.


As Black goes about her oh-so-joyous day, she expresses her love for Friday with rhyme schemes that, at best, sound like "kickin' in the front seat/ sittin' in the back seat." You know there's a problem when the most clever rhyme combination throughout the entire song is "seat" and..."seat."


The video and lyrics also leave us with many unanswered questions.


What happened to the bus? Does your mom know that you ditched the bus to get into a "friend's" car? Is he even old enough to drive?


Why are you contemplating between the front seat and the back seat when the front seat is obviously taken? She has a "friend to [her] right," but what about the one on her left?


Who is this random rapper who is obviously too old to be "partyin'" with these little girls, and was he really a necessary addition to the song?


Is it safe to be sitting on top of the car while you're "cruisin' down the highway"? 


Is there parental supervision at this middle school party?


Does being a teenager excuse you from the grammar rules that prohibit you from saying "we so excited?"


And the ultimate question- Is she old enough to be "partyin' partyin' yeah!"?! 

The song has as much depth as a kiddy pool. But then again, I'm assuming that their intended target audience wasn't grown men and women who have nothing better to do than watch a video explaining the days of the week. 

One of the many parodies of Rebecca Black's "Friday"

Source: YouTube

The combination of poorly written lyrics, unprofessional filming and an empty performance has brought upon a wave of online attackers who aren't afraid to voice their opinions.

According to an article on CNN, Billboard called the song "straight out of Auto-Tuned hell" and Rolling Stone called it an "unintentional parody of modern pop."

Due to an overwhelming amount of less-than-welcoming comments from her YouTube viewers, guardian.co.uk mentions Black's feelings of being "cyber bullied."


"I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get an eating disorder so you'll look pretty, and I hope you go cut and die," reads a comment on Black's video, according to guardian.co.uk. 

But don't be fooled by the nasty comments and 1.2 million "dislikes" on YouTube. In an appearance on "The Today Show," Black tells Jay Leno that many stars such as Ryan Seacrest, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, and Willow Smith have come to her defense and shown support for "Friday."

Rebecca Black and Jay Leno on "The Today Show"

Source: bsckids.com

And while most of the world cringes in horror, Lady GaGa and Simon Cowell both praise Black for her widespread effect of gaining instant fame. 


According to an article on msnbc.com,  Lady GaGa calls the song "fantastic" and says that "Rebecca Black is a genius and anyone that's telling her she's cheesy is full of [expletive deleted]." 


Simon Cowell seems to agree. 


"'The "X Factor" judge recently spoke out in defense of the teen, calling her song "brilliant" and labeling it "hysterical" that anyone could be so upset about the harmless tune,'" reads the msnbc.com article. 


According to a guardian.co.uk article, Cowell also said, "Anyone who can create this much controversy within a week, I want to meet." 


If anything, Rebecca Black shows us a way to stand out in an overcrowded, competitive music industry- make an unbelievably horrible music video and hope that it becomes a viral sensation...even if it's for all the wrong reasons.


You must watch for yourself to believe:

Rebecca Black's "Friday" music video

Source: YouTube

The Biebs Does It Again

One thing Justin Bieber never fails to do: make every girl in the world (including girls like me who are way too old to be wooed by his boyish charm) melt when they hear him croon his baby-sweet voice.

Except this time, the Biebs is showing a different, more mature side to his talents in an emotion-packed collaboration with none other than the also-kid-friendly country band Rascal Flatts.

Titled "That Should Be Me," the song depicts a completely different feel from Bieber's usual genre of catchy head-bobbing hip hop songs like "Baby" and "Somebody to Love." Then again, it's a big jump from Ludacris and Usher to Rascal Flatts. If anything, this song definitely shows that Bieber knows a thing or two about collaborations.

In a possible attempt to reach out to a young demographic, there is no smarter move than for Rascal Flatts to join forces with the boy plastered on every little girl's wall.

Somanymp3s.com disagrees, saying that this move will not lead to a successful expansion of Rascal Flatts' fan base.

"They already have a very large fan base. They will only lose current fans from this partnership with Bieber; they may gain a few fans by reaching out to Bieber, but those fans will be 12-year-old girls who had never heard of Rascal Flatts."

However, with their recent partnership with Disney as they became the singers of the movie Cars' theme song, they have already expanded their name to reach the young audience. 

With Bieber's fresh new haircut (perhaps in an attempt to advance his new "grown up" direction), he shows more emotion in these 3 minutes and 57 seconds than we've ever seen from him before. The video is a bit bland, with no flashing lights or signature dance moves, but Bieber's facial expressions suffice as enough entertainment.

Screenshot from Justin Bieber's "That Should Be Me" music video.

Photo Credit: www.justjared.buzznet.com

As they harmonize in the melodies of "that should be me holding your hand...making you laugh...feeling your kiss...buying you gifts," I can't help but laugh at the fact that a 17-year-old boy and middle aged men are singing about similar experiences with girls. How much heartbreak could a 17-year-old (a 17-year-old Justin Bieber, at that) know?

Somanymp3s.com seems to agree. They wrote "since Flatts singer Gary LeVox is singing an already-existing song written by a then 15-year-old, the lyrics he sings tend to be on the creepy side- since he is singing a song that was most likely written about a teenage girl."

I was also amused by Bieber's attire, as he stuck true to his hip-hop roots by dressing like his mini-gangster self next to a rhinestone-studded-shirt wearing country singer.

As the song progresses and the emotion heightens, Bieber displays his almost-convincing acting skills as he stares deep into the camera with his puppy dog eyes, kneels on the floor with arms outstretched to his invisible lover, then later throws his jacket down in resignation to the unbearable feelings that have taken over.

Tasteofcountry.com is a fan of this emotional collaboration.  

"The way the scenes tie together as if the joint effort were unplanned makes the 'That Should Be Me' video feel as raw as the emotional song- and lends you to believe the Bieber/Flatts collective force was anticipated all along."

Although dramatic and unrealistic that a 17-year-old boy and middle aged men would lock themselves in a room to sing and pine over lost lovers, the "rawness" is a relief from the usual girls, cars and party theme that has taken over our society's music industry. While Bieber make clean cut, fun and enjoyable videos, past artists at his age have shown less class and appeal to the "kiddos." Remember Lil Bow Wow? Or the obviously-not-a-role-model Taylor Momsen?

Let's hope the Biebs continues on this track of being one of the few role models left in the music industry. I'll begin to worry the day an impala or scantily-clad bikini girl appears in his videos...but for now, I still have Bieber Fever!

"That Should Be Me"- Justin Bieber featuring Rascal Flatts

Source: YouTube

GaGa Gets Too Literal with "Born This Way" Video

Lady GaGa was “born this way,” as she so graphically demonstrated in her newest video for the first single off her “Born This Way” album, scheduled to release in May.

As a self-proclaimed “little monster,” I usually love everything “mamma monster” does because she always seems to have a deeper meaning than what meets the eye. While the world saw the “Telephone” music video as an overload of product placements and an array of unrelated visuals, Lady GaGa was making a statement about America’s obsession with consumerism and technology. 

Screenshot from Lady GaGa's "Telephone" music video

Photo: giantbomb.com

During an interview with E! News, Lady GaGa explained her hidden symbolisms. 

“There’s certainly always a hidden message in my music videos. But I would say most predominately, I’m always trying to convolute everyone’s idea of what a pop music video should be.”

While everyone thought Lady GaGa was insane for wearing a dress made of raw meat to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, she was making a statement about standing up for our beliefs and fighting for what’s right.

So while her work and outlandish antics have not been obviously meaningful or conventional in any way, I never questioned her methods…until now. 

I’m not sure if discomfort was the reaction she was aiming for, but I was definitely feeling uncomfortable watching the “Born This Way” music video. 

Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" music video

Credit: YouTube.com

The video begins with visuals of extraterrestrial-like beings, mystical creatures (including a sparkling unicorn) and figures that made me raise an eyebrow or two. Then, Lady GaGa’s legs appear spread eagle in stirrups with a woman reaching into her womb (thankfully, the images are split in half and mirrored so at least a little bit is left to the imagination) to pull  out a ball of some slimy substance that eventually turns into Lady GaGa herself.

According to Gossip Center, Lady GaGa’s inspiration behind the concept was “the birth of a new race within the race of humanity” that “doesn’t bear any prejudices.” 

All I ask is, why does she have to choose “Born This Way” as the only song she doesn’t represent in some vague and ambiguous way?

Although the scenes were shot in a kaleidoscope-esque way to perhaps mitigate the graphic representation of birth giving, the images are still disturbing beyond belief.

The video continues with her signature dance-in-undergarments, which was probably the only scene that I could watch without cringing. It ends with an extremely random scene of Lady GaGa walking down a dark alley in white gloves, reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” music video. In the end, the video left me confused and disturbed as ever.


However disturbing the video may be, the song itself is accruing instant success as Little Monsters around the world finally get a taste from her much anticipated album.


Popeater.com reports that three days after the song's debut on February 11, it reached all kinds of iTunes sales records and "became the 1,000th song to top the Billboard singles chart. At radio, 'Born This Way' was picked up more than any debuting title in the chart's 18-year history, according to Nielsen BDS, and has gone on to sell over a million digital downloads."

We love you and congratulate you on your success GaGa, but next time, let’s keep the birthing scenes in the delivery room and out of the music industry.