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Is Ironic Detachment To Blame for Rebecca Black’s Massive ‘Popularity’?

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by Danny Groner | 1:59 pm, March 24th, 2011

» 12 comments

As 13-year-old singer Rebecca Black‘s Friday video racks up YouTube clicks – and Black reportedly earns loads of cash for her surprising hit song – we’re left to wonder about what Black’s story says about the music industry, the Internet, and us. Ark Music Factory, the company behind Black and other young stars, should be thrilled with all the attention, says Rhodri Marsden in The Independent, since their “whole business model is about reaction, not content.” But they have virtually “disappeared” from the spotlight faced with the inevitable backlash, which is “baffling – like pretty much everything connected to the Friday phenomenon.”

What else are people saying? Here, a roundup of the best takes about the budding star:

Black’s being exploited: This “inane, illegally catchy ditty sung in an oddly detached monotone,” has found an audience, says Michael Cragg in The Guardian. But there is an “unfortunate outcome of all this:” Black is learning that, thanks to her management company, “being a pop star isn’t just about having a catchy song and a cheap-looking video.” She must endure online abuse and “awkward interviews.” While we laugh at Black, we should also wonder if “something slightly more siniste” is going on “involving a self-styled ‘music factory’ and some misplaced dreams.”

Welcome to the digital era of music: “There is nothing new about the Rebecca Black phenomenon, except perhaps that it has happened so fast,” says Neil McCormick in The Telegraph. “Pop has always had a bulletin board quality, but the technology of the internet means fads and fancies are operating at a hyper accelerated pace, where instant responses really are instant.” Her fame is really about the power of “mass attention” to get people “briefly congregating at one spot before dispersing.”

She’s just the latest joke: Black is just one example of “the reliably sadistic appeal of the FAIL, upon which both the Internet and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ were built,” says Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. “But there’s more to it than the spectacle of delusion. Every time someone gets famous for being horrible, that awful success sends a message to all the other no-talents waiting in the wings.” Remember when we embraced talent instead?

This is our world now: “This is a story made for finger-pointing — at Black for her perceived poor performance, at her mother for poor judgment, at Ark Music Factory for its artistic cynicism and flagrant opportunism,” says Meghan Daum in the Los Angeles Times. However, it’s not necessarily such a bad thing for Black; it just means accepting that “being extremely popular is now basically the same thing as being extremely unpopular.” And it will surely take some getting used to. In the past “the forum for anonymous public opinion was the high school bathroom wall, now the whole world is essentially a bathroom wall.”

And in the event that you want to consume the manufactured pop confection that made Black what she is today, please “enjoy”:

ARK Music Factory, friday, Internet, Los Angeles Times, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Meghan Daum, Michael Cragg, Music, Neil McCormick, rebecca black, Salon, The Guardian, the telegraph, YouTube

jerrybobphil

Who?
TangledThorns

We played this song at least a dozen times this week in the office. It’s a new phenomenon. I expect her to perform at the Mtv awards or something. Very unusual times we live in.
LeviCoultify

Nice article, well done. As a musician myself it baffles me how people latch on to some random simple songs like it’s the first beat they ever heard.
corporatesteve12

Its worth noting that after all the middle-men get paid and everything is said and done, her parents will have made all their money back and them some. Is this not the goal of all aspiring artists, musicians, and performers? Not only is the song she performed “out there”, she made money! This was done without a major label, without major airplay on top 40 radio, without even being connected to the “industry”. Granted, the song stinks and she may be a laughing stock BUT im with Simon Cowell on this one ….any publicity is good publicity!
mlb

Tosh.o being the leading influence among the demographic most likely to watch and spread this video aired it made fun of it and off it went. Fellow middle school and HS students caused this viral sensation and quite frankly have already moved on. Maybe the MSM should stop over analyzing this “phenom”. By the time she had booked her first on-air, TV interview she was already considered old news-it just takes traditional media time to catch up on the story and continue to make it one. Please let this video and all other’s produced by this parent/ teenage vanity music video company die a fast death on youtube- Please STOP talking about it, like it is newsworthy! A crappy song goes viral – for all the wrong reasons, and this is new?
errxn

The sooner that we rid ourselves of the “ironic detachment” meme, and the beyond-annoying hipsters that perpetuate it, the better.
guy

C’mon folks …. let’s not get all snobby and huffy here. This whole “incident” warrants discussion and all, but let’s get over it. It’s just a catchy little kid tune. We might all be embarrassed if we revealed which group and song brought us into music way back when. Chances are most of us DO remember the cheezy 2:50 – 3:05 minute pop tunes that turned us on to music and radio, etc. But most of us evolved, explored, and expanded our musical tastes. This tune too shall pass and others will take its place. Let’s not deny this generation’s opportunity to chew a little bubble gum. Besides …… you know what tomorrow is ????!!!!!! FRIDAY !!! And you know I’ll be kickin’ down !!! Relax folks …… it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it !!!
my dogs gone

Colbie Caillat.
Sometimes youtube works.

It’s a free market.
Some folks like McDonalds.
So what?
JoeRemi

It’s cute and makes me smile. Who doesn’t like hitting Friday and looking forward to the weekend?
Liberty_Hound

Hey… Not my taste in music but she’s not bad for a 13 year old and she is very pretty. She appears to have limitless potential. Hopefully she and her family will stay grounded and maybe she will have a successful future. Only time will tell. She shouldn’t worry too much about any back lash. Easier said than done for a 13 year ago. That’s why she will need good friends and family support. And don’t let the money go to your head. It’s tough for an adult to handle large sums of money (assuming she does become a megastar) it’s very difficult for a young teenager.

It’s better to be rich than rich and famous. Everybody know who you are.. Everybody wants a piece of you and everybody is watching you. Combine that and being a teenage. Many do handle it well but many do not.
chicgoods36

(w w w )(chic-goods)(com)
spacegod

This is the most vacuous, inane piece of—-SQUIRREL!!!