Rebecca Black should have stopped while she was ahead, but human nature being what it is, we knew that wasn’t going to happen. “My Moment,” her follow up to on-line phenomenon “Friday” is meant to address her nay-sayers and, we presume, to prove that she is a formidable talent. Sadly, it succeeds on neither count, but, on the fame meter, where all that matters is keeping your name in the news for another day, Black is a big winner.
To recap, earlier this year, a simple little song about waiting for the pleasures of Friday, hit YouTube. It was performed, though not written, by a then-13-year old named Rebecca Black. The song quickly became a viral sensation as some dubbed it the “worst song” ever recorded. A few months later, the YouTube clip had surpassed 100 million hits. Suits involving Ark Music Factory, whom Black”s parents paid $2000 to help develop their daughter”s talent, and Black started to fly and the “Friday” clip got pulled over some legal issues.
In the meantime, Black, with tremendous poise and likability, appeared on a number of TV shows and upped her Q rating. Despite criticisms flung her way about her dubious talent, she exhibited grace beyond her years. Katy Perry incorporated Black in her video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
Oh, we know it would be next to impossible to walk away on top like that, especially with a potentially huge fan base, and, of course, Black couldn”t. Especially because, all you haters, she has something to say to you. You can hate her all you want, but the now 14-year old has worked so hard-all her life, really- for her moment and you can”t take that away from her. She has real talent and she”s going to prove it to you in the “My Moment” video via her autotuned voice, her band, whom the Partridge Family put to shame, and her awesome dance moves, which make Britney Spears” recent robotic, stiff motions look like Bob Fosse.
She”s been media schooled within an inch of her life in the video. We can only imagine the instruction: “Rebecca! Make sure you remember to look upward when you sing the line ‘My head up in the clouds”!” or “A sideways glance is always a good move during a close up to look coy but not overtly sexy!” and “Smile, smile, smile, especially when you”re delivering the ‘F You” lines to your haters.” Does this song actually include the line, “I can”t talk to you right now, I”m getting my paper?” I”m hoping I”m mishearing that one.
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There are some moments that are downright cringeworthy, such as when Black tries to clap along to the beat and dance in her seat around the 1:15 mark. And the relentless Stepford style smiling is a little creepy.
Here”s the thing. Black is a kid and I don”t want to beat her up any more than I just have. She’s not egregiously untalented, she’s just a cute teen with a dream and just enough talent to get her noticed—in a big way. Who doesn”t want to be a star and with a great equalizer like YouTube that gives anyone a fair shot at being discovered, there”s no reason for her not to dive back in. As with any pop sensation that blooms out of nowhere, she will disappear when the public gets distracted by the next shiny penny and she will, hopefully, go back to being a normal teenager with some great stories to tell.