Rebecca Black has taken a lot of heat for releasing what many people have called the worst song ever recorded. She has been excoriated across the Web, victimized by the sort of cyber bullying that proves what a dehumanizing environment the Internet can be.
There are plenty of fronts on which I can come to Black’s defense. The most obvious is that she’s a 13-year-old girl and, as such, should be shielded from the sort of mocking vitriol directed her way. Even an adult would have a hard time dealing with this sort of treatment… a kid her age doesn’t stand a chance.
And then there’s the fact that Black was a victim before anybody even heard the song. Her parents paid schlock merchants Ark Music $2,000 to provide her daughter with a song and video. Certainly they didn’t expect the reaction the song received, but trading your daughter’s name on what amounts to a shady get-rich-quick scheme is, shall we say, less than noble.
But I am here to defend Rebecca Black, and ‘Friday,’ on another level. I am here to say that ‘Friday’ is not the “worst song ever” — far from it. This is one of the best pop songs I’ve heard in ages.
Black doesn’t have Aguilera’s pipes or Shakira’s dance moves, but she has something better — a subtle delivery that hints at wisdom beyond her years, a way of teasing from the lyrics layers of meaning you’d never have discovered on your own. You feel this song more than hear it, and that credit is primarily due to Black’s vocals.
But credit is due to the songwriters as well. I believe this song has attracted such derision in large part because it is so irresistible. How many of the haters have found themselves humming this melody long after they’ve spewed their bile on YouTube?
And the track is not just catchy, it’s impeccably constructed, shifting between movements like a dance pop version of The Beatles’ ‘A Day in the Life.’ Is it that classic song’s equal? I’ll say no for now… but ask me again in five years.
Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Seven a.m., waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein’ everything, the time is goin’
Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)
Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
7:45, we’re drivin’ on the highway
Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly
Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is
I got this, you got this
My friend is by my right, ay
I got this, you got this
Now you know it
Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after … wards
I don’t want this weekend to end
R-B, Rebecca Black
So chillin’ in the front seat (In the front seat)
In the back seat (In the back seat)
I’m drivin’, cruisin’ (Yeah, yeah)
Fast lanes, switchin’ lanes
Wit’ a car up on my side (Woo!)
(C’mon) Passin’ by is a school bus in front of me
Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream
Check my time, it’s Friday, it’s a weekend
We gonna have fun, c’mon, c’mon, y’all
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
Meet Me In Montauk 
Look, I appreciate you wanting to come to the defense of this young girl, but, dude, this is NOT a good song. It is musically wholly uninteresting, and don’t even get me started on the lyrics—particularly the “yesterday was Thursday,” “tomorrow is Saturday” verse.
Putting this song in the same sentence as any Beatles song may well have your blog credentials suspended. At the very least, I will be starting an official inquiry:)
(notice the date)
I fully expect that Dana, too, is aware of the date 😉
I hope so, because I need to maintain my Web cred!
ha, no, I have to admit that you got me. Good one!
I figured the Beatles comparison would be the giveaway… but apparently you have that little faith in my musical taste! 🙂 I guess after the country music thing, all bets were off!
well, that, and your penchant for teen pop, Mr. Hanson.:)
Compared to Rebecca Black, Hanson IS The Beatles!
you know, as I was reading this, even before I heard the song, I was thinking this is an April Fools joke, I remember last year you did a blog saying you were ending the SOTD, and used “The Party’s Over” I believe as your swan song. Funny stuff.
Meanwhile, April Fool’s Day joke or not, you have to be careful not to enter the fray. And I admire how you stayed justbarely on the right side of that line 😉
Well, I meant everything I said up until praising the song (which is true shit).
I totally agree with you. Whatever people feel about the music this should not be an excuse for a hate campaign against a little girl. Join the Facebook campaign ‘Defend Rebecca Black’. No one deserves to be bullied!