You can’t have spent a moment on the internet in the past two weeks and not known about the YouTube phenomenon that is ‘Friday’. The statistics are an alarming commentary on the state of our world today – with 69 million views and almost a million comments, an explosion of intricate reviews and critiques and growing hatred, this track has snowballed all over the internet, spilled over into our daily lives and been stuck in our heads in the most Josie-and-the-Pussycats-est way. The Ark Music Factory manufactured single has taken the world by storm, etching itself a permanent place in pop culture.
We have an exclusive interview with teen internet sensation Rebecca Black about her upcoming India tour, the travesties surrounding pop music today, and tsunamis.
How does it feel to be headlining the NH7 Weekender? Are you excited, to be touring India for the first time?
RB: I’m really excited to be headlining the NH7 Weekender, and to be touring India. It’s such an exciting country. We’re so excited. I hear there’s going to be a lot of partyin’, which is honestly my primary interest in life right now. We have something special planned for each performance – on the Front Seat stage and the Back seat Stage, but there’s a chance I may not be able to decide which stage I’d be performing at. But anyway, we so excited.
What would you say are your musical influences? What music did you listen to growing up, and how has it affected your sound?
RB: I listen to a lot of classical music – mostly Chopin and Beethoven. Also I’ve always really looked up to The Cure, they’re my favorite band and I decided to make this song as a kind of tribute to them – which I’m sure people would’ve noticed. Our lyrics, thematically, are very similar – I was looking to make a more contemporary version of their music. ‘Friday’ is nothing but ‘Friday I’m in Love’, a day/week in the life, from a younger point of view – which is why I’ve acknowledged it in the beginning of the video as well. I couldn’t speak of adult love, because that’s something I’ve never experienced.
What is your song ‘Friday’ really about? Tell us about the underlying meaning of your single.
RB: I think a lot of pop music available now isn’t really addressing teenagers anymore, and doesn’t represent the issues in their life. Most lyrics these days also seem fairly abstract, I wanted to sing something simple, while keeping it catchy. There are a lot of tough decisions that need to be made in our lives, and we don’t even have anyone to turn to. There was a burning need to put a face to those problems, give listeners something they could relate to. There was a need to give them hope, something to look forward to. In this world full of wars and aggression and like, tsunamis and stuff, all we really have is hope.
What do you have to say about accusations that you’re using auto-tune to improve your vocal quality, that you can’t actually sing?
RB: We haven’t used auto-tune as an attempt to mask anything, in fact it’s slowly turning into a powerful tool to highlight important messages. They’re even using it in the news these days. I’ve wanted to be a musician my whole life, I’ve known for sure that I have a good voice. I definitely sing better than Lady Gaga. If I had to draw a comparison, I’d say my music and my vocals are quite similar to Tom Waits’.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on my full length album, and I have a single coming up called ‘LOL’ – we’re already in the studios working on it.
Catch Rebecca Black at the NH7 Weekender 2011. Watch ‘Friday’ below.
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