In 2011, few songs were more unavoidable than Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. The track went viral online, and despite the widespread backlash, it was almost impossible to escape.
Black was just 13 when the song and its music video were released. The sudden fame exposed her to intense bullying and death threats, while she has since spoken openly about feeling “shame” over how many people know her.
Now 29, Black has continued making music and has released several tracks over the years. Her debut studio album, Let Her Burn, arrived in February 2023, with her second studio album due next week.
Rebecca Black faced death threats after “Friday” went viral
When “Friday” became a viral hit, police officially recognised the death threats made against the teenager. One threat demanded that she remove the song from YouTube “or else”.
Speaking to ABC News at the time, Black said she could not believe the things people were saying about her.
“The meanest thing I read was I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get a eating disorder so you’ll look pretty,” Black said.
Although “Friday” is now regarded as one of the most disliked YouTube videos of all time, Black has continued working in music despite legal struggles surrounding the song and years of online trolling.
Black has reinvented herself as a DJ and recording artist
Black has performed as a DJ at multiple events, describing the work as a “personal creative outlet”. She told Refinery29 that DJing had helped her become more “in tune with an audience” and learn how to adapt to a crowd.
“I think that’s such an important part of the type of DJ I want to be: Not only someone with my own identity and sound, but one who knows how to move with the energy of the room and what people want,” she explained. “That is so opposite from how I’ve always approached my live shows, which are rehearsed down to the second.”
In 2025, Black released her third EP, Salvation. On Friday (4 September), she will release her second studio album, Age of the Exhibitionist.
Speaking to NME, she described the new music as “heavier, harder, faster and louder than anything I’ve made before”. She has already released three singles from the album: “Speakerphone”, “Hot Wet Delirious” and “Michael”.
With a Boiler Room set already under her belt and a place on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 music list, Black still performs mixes of her 2011 track at events.
Whatever listeners think of “Friday”, the song remains an enduring part of pop culture history.
“Gotta get down on Friday, Everybody’s looking forward to the weekend….”
