Rebecca Dim leaves meme in rear view: NPR

Rebecca Black, whose first album let it burn releases February 9.

Sarah Pardini/Courtesy of the artist

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Sarah Pardini/Courtesy of the artist

Rebecca Black, whose first album let it burn releases February 9.

Sarah Pardini/Courtesy of the artist

Tomorrow will mark 12 years since Rebecca Black, then a music-loving teenage girl from California, released the music video for “Friday,” a weird pop song for which she didn’t write the lyrics or write the melody. Or produce. Or direct the video for. She was, after all, 13 years old. You may remember what happened next – Black became one of the first prototype teenage internet celebrities and, by measure of that job description, a target for bullying.

Now 25, Black has left her meme (far) behind, focusing in the years since on coming to terms with the experience and herself, while working toward the dream. pop stardom on his own terms. Black’s first album, let it burncomes out today.

This interview has been edited and condensed. To listen to the broadcast version of this conversation, use the audio player at the top of this page.

A Martinez, morning edition: GOOD. So, Rebecca, 12 years since”FridayIt was February 10, 2011 when the song was released on YouTube.

Rebecca Black: Yeah. That’s almost exactly halfway through my life, strangely.

Oh my God. So you’re 25 and you were, what, 13? So what happened in the meantime?

What happened? I mean… I had to become a fully realized person. I was a teenager when this song came out, and this song was one of those weird, weird experiences that I had, that somehow I convinced my parents to do.. .. then this moment became obviously much bigger than any of us anticipated. So it was almost like I was working backwards from this moment that I’m in right now.

I really had to decide, is this something I want to do forever? And if so, what do I do with it? And what have I to say?

Many people loved “Friday”. A lot of people hated it. So I think for you, that seemed like the thing that was going to define you for a long time. At some point, did you get to the point in your head where you’re like, “I have to get rid of this? Or have you always thought, “Well, this is the thing that put me on the map?”

It has been a layered experience for me. I mean trying to figure out what happened to me when I was 13 and then how the relationship I had with that experience changed as I got older is what probably defined me more than the experience itself. Going through this as a teenager – when the internet was in a completely different place – I mean, I was just trying to deal with the experience of having a completely different version of my life, growing up in county d ‘Orange, to go to college, have my friends, love musical theater. And then it happened.

Millions of people being aware that you exist as a teenager, it’s really complicated, and something that I didn’t really understand. And probably still don’t understand now. I struggled a lot, as a person who became who I am now. Now I’m 25, with this experience of feeling like I’ve been defined by something I never really wanted to define, especially as a kid.

Have you been protected at all? Or did you hear and feel every moment of the hate coming your way?

I mean, my parents definitely tried to do everything they could – but having no experience in the industry, there was so much they didn’t know. Also, being 13 years old in 2011, I had Twitter, I had YouTube, I had Facebook. I had everything.

Was it expensive? Or were you too young to realize it was awful?

It was expensive. Yeah. I mean, having so much information as a kid – and not even having a semblance of self, really, to bounce back from. It’s all about that – there’s no filter that you’ve built into yourself to be able to say, like, “I don’t know if I’m okay with this.” If someone says “you don’t belong here, you’re bad at it, you’re a disgrace even for trying to do something like that” those words have such a different intensity when you’re a kid because you are fair believe them.

What was the best part? Aside from all the awful stuff, was there anything really great about it? ‘Cause when you appeared in Katy Perry’s music video for “Last Friday night“, it was just a few months after the release of your song “Friday”. I thought, “Okay, she must be riding this incredible wave right now.”

Oh, it was such a crazy time of incredible ups and downs. For example, I would spend the morning reading everything that was said about me on the Internet, then I would get picked up and driven somewhere in the valley to shoot the Katy Perry music video. Or win a Teen Choice Award, which at age 13 is the greatest achievement.

You barely qualify! You are barely 13 years old.

And I have already won the prize in this moment!

I think the best thing that came out of it was that it put me where I am now. I guess I don’t know if I’d be the same person – I certainly wouldn’t be the same person I am now if it hadn’t happened to me.

I think of today – how many digital child stars are there? They create content for TikTok, for YouTube, for just about every social media site possible. And it looks like you were the first, almost, to show up like that. I wonder if anyone sees your story as some kind of road map: let’s try to make sure that this child doesn’t have to deal with some of the things that you had to deal with.

Yeah… I mean, I hope so. And that’s something I remember talking to my mother a lot about, a few years after the fact. My mom just wished she had some kind of manual to go to to try and walk me through this. Or someone she could talk to. I hope it exists now.

Speedy Ahead So A long way: The Book let it burn. I do know you exempt singles, between “Friday” and now. What took place that you just couldn’t let fall a complete brochure? Was once there one thing that wouldn’t help you? Or have been you simply looking to paintings on your self as an artist?

Evidently. I ruthless, 12 years between a debut brochure and a debut brochure is an extended week. There have been numerous causes.

I do know having a look again, at 18, at 16, at 23, I used to be determined to let fall a complete brochure. Particularly as anyone who loves song and is as involved in song tradition as I’m, I all the time sought after to precise myself on this means… however as an distant artist for an extended week, it used to be tricky to persuade any person that it used to be even usefulness it for me to try this. After all, I supposition I will have posted one thing on SoundCloud and referred to as it a year. However I knew I sought after to do one thing larger than that.

So occasion I want I may say I used to be able to do it, those date few years were essentially the most impressive ingenious years of my pace. ‘Cause I finally believed that I could do it, and I knew what I had to say.

So I released singles: In 2021, I released an EP called Rebecca Black was thereand that’s once I in any case felt like I had one thing… I in any case felt like I discovered the tone, [and] I had discovered an target market that I hooked up with and [who] hooked up with me and would pay attention what I needed to form. No longer handiest would I take the week to hear it, however I might truly take what I needed to say as a pop artist, as my very own distinctive tale.

One of the crucial songs on let it burn is “Destroy me”, and one of the crucial strains is: “Watch me as I crash and burn again and again / Go on, destroy me.” I ruthless, it sort of feels adore it’s about being judged via alternative society’s requirements.

Completely, completely. The tune has a accumulation to do with my very own courting with myself and the way in which I communicate to myself, and the ones relationships that I’ve had – oh, it’s so thrilling to speak about!

Once I wrote this tune, I used to be truly suffering with how I noticed myself. This tune is truly concerning the lack of confidence you may have with your self, giving permission for alternative society to return in and spoil you or disappointed your individual view of your self.

You discussed a female friend – what does she bring to mind who you have been and who you at the moment are?

Smartly, we’ve been relationship for approximately a day, and he or she’s a manufacturer. We didn’t paintings in combination on that.

Tune manufacturer?

Yeah.

Oh! She shall be ready to pass judgement on your paintings!

If there used to be one particular person I used to be afraid to percentage the brochure with, it used to be her! However she truly – fortunately – had some certain issues to mention about it.

She’s a couple of years older than me, and he or she used to be residing out of the country when the tune got here out. So she’s like, “Yeah, I definitely kinda knew the name…”

So anyone who didn’t know who you have been?!

Yeah. I additionally dated society who have been, like, very conscious about this.

Did you are feeling such as you had to give an explanation for that to him?

There used to be a year when I used to be like, “Have you ever seen the video? For some reason, I feel like you have to watch it.” I kinda pressured her to do it.

And what did she suppose?

She stated, “That’s cute. You were a kid. Adorable.”

The rationale your tale pursuits me such a lot is that there are lots of occasions this present day the place you’re outlined via one thing – whether or not just right or sinful – and that occurs to be the one lens that society have of you. And it takes success and dried paintings to conquer that, or no less than to get society to peer anyone other. I feel it’s your week, so the word of honour Friday isn’t the very first thing society bring to mind after they bring to mind you, is it?

Yeah. I ruthless, it’s for sure a work of that. It’s additionally a part of the explanation why this pace will have taken see you later to reach. I sought after to turn society that I didn’t simply should be some kind of redemption or comeback tale.

This brochure is as just right as anything else available in the market at the moment. This brochure can compete. And me, as a performer, I will be able to compete with all of the alternative pop stars who’re on this garden. It used to be truly impressive to me. That is how I think about myself and the place I’m now. And whether or not alternative society agree or now not shall be as much as them.