You may not like the lyrics, how the song gets stuck in your head or the fact that it repeats the word "fun" 16 times, but there may be a reason not to totally despise Rebecca Black's song "Friday."
In February, Black, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, took the internet by storm with her digitally enhanced song "Friday" about looking forward to the weekend. Within a month her video had millions of views, according to CNN. As of Friday morning, the number had risent to nearly 138 million views. Although people can't help but watch it over and over again, it has been deemed by some as the "worst song ever," and as of Friday, had more than 2.7 million dislikes on YouTube.
Yet many bloggers have commented recently that the song was a fresh relief — to see a teenager not dancing scandalously, showing off her body or talking about sex, alcohol or drugs.
"With former role models like Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan turning from innocent Disney icons into raunchy adult stars, Rebecca Black has provided a welcome relief from the relentless sexualization of childhood," wrote Erin Brown for the Culture and Media Institute.
"I think 'Friday' is popular with the 10-to-14-year-old crowd specifically because its lyrics are completely innocent and unsophisticated," wrote the blogger known as Zombie atpajamasmedia.com. "Kids are sick of being barraged with sexuality and violence and cynicism. At last, for the first time in a long time, a pop song for kids is not about (sex) or angst. Kids just want to be kids! And Rebecca Black is their new guide."
The song opens up with Black singing about waking up, getting ready for school and making sure she gets a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Most of the dance moves from her and others in the video are innocent: bobbing of their heads or casually moving their arms. Black is also relatively modest in the video with ¾-length sleeves on at a party, though some would argue her skirt is a little short and she has too much makeup on for a 13-year-old.
Yet the Harvard Crimson reported this week about a new adolescent YouTube sensation that is much more disturbing called "O.M.G." The singer, 12-year-old Jenna Rose, calls herself a "Teen Boom Boom Doll," dances very seductively and has lyrics like "Oh-my-God, she looks good/Oh-my-God, you know you wish you could." The song was posted on YouTube at the end of March and has more than a million views.
"It is unsettling that pre-teenage girls think that such lyrical depravity is their only chance at fame," the author wrote. "What is even more unnerving is that the parents of many such teenagers seem to be fine with it."
A teenager even did a video blog about the song, calling it disturbing and life-scarring.
In February, Black, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, took the internet by storm with her digitally enhanced song "Friday" about looking forward to the weekend. Within a month her video had millions of views, according to CNN. As of Friday morning, the number had risent to nearly 138 million views. Although people can't help but watch it over and over again, it has been deemed by some as the "worst song ever," and as of Friday, had more than 2.7 million dislikes on YouTube.
Yet many bloggers have commented recently that the song was a fresh relief — to see a teenager not dancing scandalously, showing off her body or talking about sex, alcohol or drugs.
"With former role models like Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan turning from innocent Disney icons into raunchy adult stars, Rebecca Black has provided a welcome relief from the relentless sexualization of childhood," wrote Erin Brown for the Culture and Media Institute.
"I think 'Friday' is popular with the 10-to-14-year-old crowd specifically because its lyrics are completely innocent and unsophisticated," wrote the blogger known as Zombie atpajamasmedia.com. "Kids are sick of being barraged with sexuality and violence and cynicism. At last, for the first time in a long time, a pop song for kids is not about (sex) or angst. Kids just want to be kids! And Rebecca Black is their new guide."
The song opens up with Black singing about waking up, getting ready for school and making sure she gets a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Most of the dance moves from her and others in the video are innocent: bobbing of their heads or casually moving their arms. Black is also relatively modest in the video with ¾-length sleeves on at a party, though some would argue her skirt is a little short and she has too much makeup on for a 13-year-old.
"It is unsettling that pre-teenage girls think that such lyrical depravity is their only chance at fame," the author wrote. "What is even more unnerving is that the parents of many such teenagers seem to be fine with it."
A teenager even did a video blog about the song, calling it disturbing and life-scarring.
