GMA to Rebecca Black: Let’s talk about how much people hate your song
posted at 9:53 pm on March 18, 2011 by Allahpundit
Good lord. I haven’t watched torture like this since Marty DiBergi read Spinal Tap that review of “Shark Sandwich.”
They’ve got America’s new “it” girl, the biggest pop star in the country, sitting right in front of them, and all ABC wants to know is how painful those painful, painful criticisms are? I say again: Good lord.
After a smug intro, Good Morning America’s Andrea Canning embodied a real life mean girl when she stared down the bright eyed eighth grader. The reporter smirked as she repeated the criticisms of Black’s online detractors: “This is the worst song I have ever heard in my life, even deaf people are complaining.” “I hate her voice, it’s going to be stuck in my head for life.”
“Do you think you’re a good singer?” Canning icily asks after inviting Black to perform the national anthem on command (it was surprisingly good and made me question why Friday was so outrageously autotuned in the first place). “I’m not the worst singer,” she replied, unshaken by the mocking tone of her interviewer. “I think I have talent on some level.”…
Canning … is a 38-year-old woman who bullied an eighth grader on national TV.
They should have sent Tapper to handle this one. Tough, yet fair. Sample question: “What about the ‘cereal’ lyric? Any second thoughts?”
The song, incidentally, is now number 31 with a bullet on iTunes. Next stop, the top 20. And if you think this marks the end of our recent binge of insanely viral videos involving teens, guess again. Monday shall be a glorious day indeed, my friends.
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What is funny is that you still are acting like an idiot. She IS 13 !! Why are you so stupid?
CWforFreedom on March 18, 2011 at 11:39 PM
So because she’s 13 a reporter can’t ask for her reaction to millions of negative comments she’s receiving on the internet?
terryannonline on March 18, 2011 at 11:43 PM
Terry did you read the Kesha and Lady Gaga lyrics I posted earlier. Wow they are so inspired. What world do you live in?
Oh the one that you compare the interview of a President of the greatest and most powerful country in the world to that of an interview of a 13 year old.
CWforFreedom on March 18, 2011 at 11:44 PM
So because she’s 13 a reporter can’t ask for her reaction to millions of negative comments she’s receiving on the internet?
terryannonline on March 18, 2011 at 11:43 PM
So you would be a btich and tell a 13 year old that comment about a deaf person hating her music? Really?
Oh wait…don’t answer. Later dim bulb.
CWforFreedom on March 18, 2011 at 11:45 PM
The reporter said the comments were “mean” (her words) and “cyber bullying” (her words). In opinion she was trying let the audience what kind of harsh criticism she’s been receiving….you know people haven’t been keeping up the story.
terryannonline on March 18, 2011 at 11:49 PM
The girl’s song is awful.
But she did more to write it, record it, film it and get it uploaded to YouTube than any of the “professional” interviewers.
BowHuntingTexas on March 18, 2011 at 11:50 PM
She is an okay singer.
She just needs to go back to the drawing board for new song/lyrics…a thousand times if that’s what it takes to come up with something good.
aengus on March 19, 2011 at 12:10 AM
She didn’t write the song.
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 12:12 AM
Q: A lot of people on the internet have made rather nasty comments about your artwork. Do you have any words for your critics?
A: …..
Andrea’s technique was to take someone else’s nastiness and repeat it on air as if it were being uttered in the third person — which it wasn’t — it was being uttered by Andrea herself, face-to-face with a 13-year old, artfully arranged with a “plausible deniability” construction.
You’ll note my phrasing is softer, gets the entire idea Andrea was trying to express across, and does not put Rebecca in the position of having to respond to specific instances of vitriol.
The technique Andrea used is a standard adversarial interviewing technique — of the type we often saw used against President Bush, but very rarely against President Obama. I’d rather see the pitbull method used against an adult holding a position of power than against a 13 year old who was given a chance to make a video by her parents.
But that’s just me. You obviously think otherwise.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 12:45 AM
This is a polite way to ask the question. However, how about people who have never heard of Rebecca Black and are asking themselves “What kind of nasty comments?”
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 12:56 AM
I like her attitude and she seems to be generally interested in being a singer.
If someone actually worked with her and put out a decent song, it would be a huge seller.
Any publicity is good publicity in the entertainment world, and everybody loves a comeback.
WisCon on March 19, 2011 at 12:59 AM
The song intro and first 1 minute of the song is actually really well done and catchy but then it falls into a wash rinse repeat repeat repeat monotone….her constant repeating of “Friday, Friday” is very grating…I blame the producer for pushing it through sounding like that. Usher’s little bridge in the video adds a little needed contrast but it does not appear in the iTunes song itself.
The lyrics are just awful…sounds just like an average 13 yr old wrote them. A competent producer would have insisted on helping her out there. The tune in general is very catchy…the terrible lyrics and grating vocal in the chorus has permanently doomed this recording.
starman on March 19, 2011 at 1:06 AM
She didn’t write the lyrics.
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 1:09 AM
And “Hey Jude”, with 3 minutes of “Na na na na” sold millions
Fed45 on March 19, 2011 at 1:13 AM
And so?…it still sounds like a 13 yr old wrote the lyrics. Kind of speaks to my point about a “competent” producer doesn’t it.
starman on March 19, 2011 at 1:21 AM
I thought that Rebecca Black handled the ice and the nastiness rather well. She didn’t tear up, didn’t yell and scream, and kept her dignity.
The same cannot be said of Andrea Canning. For heaven’s sake, the girl is THIRTEEN and just wanted a cute video to show her friends, not to be made fun of by the entire world. I’m sorry, but this whole “Grow a thick skin” annoys me to no end. This is a young girl in middle school; her job is not to grow the hide of a rhino before she’s been to high school, because that is warped. Let her be a kid – not saying to drown her in praise, but ignore her if you don’t like her, offer constructive criticism, or be classy and say, “It was okay”.
Oh, class. For more people like my grandmother, whose version of saying something deprecating about a woman’s looks is, “She’s plain”. That you can be mean doesn’t mean that you have to be or have a moral right to be.
Roxeanne de Luca on March 19, 2011 at 1:34 AM
Ummm… Usher isn’t in her music video. That guy looks nothing like Usher. I believe he is one of the producers at Ark Music Factory and he appears in other videos produced by the same company.
pirateoftheperineum on March 19, 2011 at 1:40 AM
http://breathingeast.com
blatantblue on March 19, 2011 at 1:57 AM
Enough of this pap…
I want more bully-bodyslam videos!
shorebird on March 19, 2011 at 1:59 AM
Apparently you think that being mean and nasty to a 13 year old girl and pointing out the flaws in what she’s done (as if she were not already aware of them) makes great TV.
My standards are a bit higher.
landlines on March 19, 2011 at 2:34 AM
From the climactic scene of Ratatouille (Pixar/2007):
Haven’t heard the song, and don’t intend to. But I’d still wager this kid’s done more toward producing something of any value in her short years to date, than this hack of a “reporter” has in her own lifetime.
Blacksmith on March 19, 2011 at 2:54 AM
She wrote, produced and sang her song – then uploaded it to the interwebs for the perusal of God knows how many people – like an adult. I’d imagine that would 86 any shielding that the “save the little children” act provides. Am I wrong? Even that Bieber kid is able to take criticism and negative feedback without whining.
Ryan Anthony on March 19, 2011 at 3:47 AM
I listened to maybe half and, yeah, the song’s bad, the video’s bad, but I’ve seen worse by well-established, professional performers. I for the life of me don’t understand what all this fuss is about.
SukieTawdry on March 19, 2011 at 4:44 AM
If my comments were auto-tuned, I’d seem fairly reasonable
Ugly on March 19, 2011 at 5:04 AM
She’s a kid having fun and is just as good an entertainer to her peer group as Obama is a president to his. The “journalist” is a hating coward.
ray on March 19, 2011 at 6:03 AM
Hey, Debbie Gibson started her career w/ some pretty nerve grating songs, and has since, morphed into a decent musician. I think there is hope for this young lady. She’s young, give her time.
To karenhasfreedom: Why are we talking about this. Have you read all the other posts on this site? One can only absorb so much gloom and doom surrounding them, before they need to take a break and look at something lighter. We are all aware of how things are going to he!!, but for sanity’s sake, a break from all the bad news doesn’t hurt, especially when we have no real effective power to change some of the things happening, other than to gripe about it.
ZeeMI on March 19, 2011 at 6:38 AM
Yeah, Lennon-McCartney ain’t got nuthin on Becky Black. Oy.
whatcat on March 19, 2011 at 6:39 AM
I am expecting to see the official “Rebecca Black/2012″ bumper stickers popping up on vehicles any day now.
pilamaye on March 19, 2011 at 7:57 AM
I don’t think the pop music industry would want us to reflect too closely on why this song is soo bad. I mean, without Auto Tune, Akon would not have a career.
stefanite on March 19, 2011 at 8:01 AM
I don’t think the interview was appropriate for a 13 YO. Maybe the interviewer would have been more happy if she had been singing about President Obama.
hawkdriver on March 19, 2011 at 8:03 AM
In my opinion, I think the interviewer was hoping for Miss Black to break down in tears.
Can I prove it? No, but I can think it.
The girl acquitted herself quite well given the circumstances. I can’t say the same for Canning.
hillbillyjim on March 19, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Canning also asked Black what comments had hurt Black the worst, and Black repeated some really mean comments. I thought that was a better way to handle it, instead of Canning repeating the comments. I got the impression Canning was hoping Black would cry. Instead, Black handled herself pretty well, especially considering she’s only 13.
mbs on March 19, 2011 at 9:05 AM
LOL, great minds think alike, I just saw your comment.
mbs on March 19, 2011 at 9:07 AM
I didn’t watch the interview. Did Canning ask the creepy old guy why he was singing about partying on the weekend with a 13 year old girl?
TugboatPhil on March 19, 2011 at 9:26 AM
Told an old bandmate from twenty years ago who’s still trying to hang on, popular music (especially bands) is DEAD. It was killed by Auto Tune and pedophilia. Just look at any of that Disney tripe that’s being pumped out. Having said that, props to the kid for standing up to that bitter hag.
teacherman on March 19, 2011 at 9:40 AM
I’d like to take a crack at making Canning cry. You know, just so I could see how cool it felt to be a “tough” reporter. Questions like…
1) How does it feel to come to work every day and see all your male coworkers
undress you with their eyes?2) That fancy “Roadkill” perfume you’re apparently wearing — not working.
3) We’ve talked a lot about having to be tough in the news business, needing a “rhino skin.” You do know, Ms. Canning, that you you weren’t supposed to take that literally, right? (And then recommend a good dermatologist.)
And finally…
4) We’re celebrating NPR and Nina Totenberg’s birthday around the studio here today, so I’d like you to join us in praying for “divine justice” in the hopes that your grandchildren get AIDs.
Canning: “That is a horrible, outrageous, and hurtful thing to say!”
Me: “You know, you’re right, Andrea. That may have been a pinch unnecessary. I apologize.”
Canning: “You certainly should. I am nowhere near old enough to have grandchildren!”
Dion on March 19, 2011 at 9:50 AM
The song, “Black Friday” is trite, insipid, and brainless.
Which is FINE, because most 8th graders discuss things which are trite, insipid, and brainless. So she captures that demographic perfectly.
I’m in my 40′s and if I’m listening to teenie-bopper music to get meaning and insight into the human condition, the problem is not with the music, it’s with me.
PackerBronco on March 19, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Oh, let me also add to my previous comment, I thought John Lennon said something very insightful in one of his last interviews about how when you get older it’s unseemly to be trying to sing songs more appropriate to 20-year olds and how he didn’t want to be jumping around the stage in his 60′s singing about making it with some little girl.
I flashed back to that interview when the Stones (and later the Who) were doing the Superbowl half-time shows. They were, to put it mildly, quite undignified and more than a little ridiculous.
PackerBronco on March 19, 2011 at 11:28 AM
The girl via her parents decided to get involved in a business. If you expect to be insulated from this because you are innocent or 13 then act like an innocent 13 year old. 99.999999999999% of whom are doing what a 13 year old is supposed to be doing which is going to school and growing up. Otherwise, deal with the criticism. Especially when it’s so richly deserved. I have no sympathy at all for her.
Rocks on March 19, 2011 at 11:49 AM
I suspect your name epitomizes nothing but your head. Otherwise you would understand that this video is part of HER growing up process. Those adults who would make that harsher indeed have rocks in their heads.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 11:55 AM
No, it wasn’t. It was a professionally, albeit badly, produced paid attempt to pimp out her out for publicity and a record deal. In 7 years this girl will be wearing next to nothing singing “Everyday is Friday”, moaning about her “stolen” sex video and trying to sell her autobiography showing how she never had a childhood. There only thing in that video that relates to being 13 is eating a bowl of cereal.
Rocks on March 19, 2011 at 12:05 PM
First, her name is Rebecca Black, and the song is “Friday”. Absolutely nothing black about this song at all — unless you count the guy in the car whose job is to mention her name and carry forward the basic theme of the song. As for the song meaning nothing, I think you are mistaken — it expresses what every 8-5 working stiff thinks about at the end of the week; we even have a restaurant chain (TGIF’s) named after the phenomenon. Those flip cards at the beginning set the whole thing up; a week of hard work, followed by…
And she knows at least the first few lines of the National Anthem.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 12:07 PM
I’m surprised you were ever able to get the spoon to your mouth.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Can you imagine the love if she was singing the same way but about how Obama brought hope?
CWforFreedom on March 19, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Wow you’re jaded. You know very little of this girl’s life, upbringing , or friends.
Really not the weekend? What about fun and friends?
You old curmudgeon. :)
CWforFreedom on March 19, 2011 at 12:15 PM
I know she has a parent who thinks it’s a good idea to pay a rapper to pimp her out while sticking himself in the song to insure he gets a share of the rights and publicity.
How many 13 year olds are attending parties in evening wear? The kids picking her up for school in a car? At 13? Is it even legal for teen drivers to have teens in a car let alone a non related 13 year old anymore?
All of the stuff described here is high school stuff. It has nothing to do with a 13 year old.
Rocks on March 19, 2011 at 12:27 PM
I doubt Rocks has ever seen the inside of a high school.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 12:34 PM
1) Yes, the young girl repeated some comments but the reporter had no way of knowing she would. Rebecca could have blown off the question and no one would have known what kind of nasty comments.
2)I agree Ms. Black handled herself superb. Even more reason for every one to calm about the questions the reporter asked. You people are stronger than we think. Ms. Black seems like a sweet and strong young lady.
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 1:03 PM
Meant to write:
Young people are stronger than we think.
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 1:03 PM
And teen girls don’t dream. You and Terry are pathetic.
CWforFreedom on March 19, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Wow. The worst music video ever? Not even close. They obviously have never seen this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWOzUzJd6wM
LOL! :) :) :)
Theophile on March 19, 2011 at 1:29 PM
Or this one. Ugh. LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPnGPIMUnus&feature=related
:) :) :)
Theophile on March 19, 2011 at 1:31 PM
Calm down. It’s not that serious.
terryannonline on March 19, 2011 at 1:59 PM
Rocks
I bet Michael Jacson’s Thriller video scared you . You know it was real right? /
Don’t watch many music videos do you ?
CWforFreedom on March 19, 2011 at 2:00 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DwT_2QQU64
The same studio has put out another horrible music video.
Asher on March 19, 2011 at 2:05 PM
She just moved up to number 19 on itunes download charts
http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/songs/
A lot of songs have stupid lyrics.
She is cute, full of energy and has good stage presence. Ms. Black is going to be around for a while.
And I like the song too. It is catchy and cute. I like Friday–both the day and the song.
Wonder if we could get her to record “It’s November, November, NOVEMBER 2012, votin on the ballet, votin on ballet, kickin the cumbents, YEAH kickin cumbents, oh yeah yeah yeah, kickin on the left side, kickin on the right side, gonna clean the chambers, back to people, back to people, ooooooh It’s November, November, NOVEMBER 2012, votin on the ballet, votin on ballet,…..”
USBB on March 19, 2011 at 2:38 PM
Look, it’s a dumb fun pop song – remember “Yummy Yummy yummy” and “Sugar, Sugar” for instance? – and it doesn’t dwell on immoral behavior.
I know most of you thugs prefer hard-driving rap about yo’ beach-hoes getting slapped around for not sleeping wid all yo’ homies or using the crack you gave ‘em to sell, or puttin’ a cap in some rival’s asp, or how much you love Obama, but give the kid a break.
Adjoran on March 19, 2011 at 3:03 PM
I feel for the kid… She made a ultra-wtf video and the ultra-nastyness followed. With luck no one ultra-scary will start stalking her in an attempt to glom onto her ultra-fast rocket to ultra-viral status.
-
That is all for my ultra-annoying comment of the day. ty
-
RalphyBoy on March 19, 2011 at 4:06 PM
I said that the song was “trite, insipid, and brainless”. Telling me that it’s just like the name of a restaurant chain, is not exactly a good counter-argument.
PackerBronco on March 19, 2011 at 4:08 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU1x8Ll62QE
This is something much more creative.
Asher on March 19, 2011 at 4:23 PM
I think it’s pretty good.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 4:49 PM
It’s the thought behind the name of the restaurant chain.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 4:50 PM
That was good.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Pathetic, ABC should be ashamed. When do they ever serve up hard hitting questions to Obama? What about Al Gore’s Grammy? Give me a break.
Daemonocracy on March 19, 2011 at 5:01 PM
Yes, I get it. Work is hard. Weekends are fun. We’re not talking about the depths of profundity here or an insight into the human condition.
Which, as I said in my first note on this subject, is FINE. It’s a kiddie song, written by a kid for kids and it reflects what they think about. I have no problem with that.
It’s not trying to be anything else.
Now on the other hand, a song like “Billy don’t be a Hero” or “Having my Baby” ascends to heights of sheer awfullness, often for so terribly failing at trying to relevant and insightful.
PackerBronco on March 19, 2011 at 5:19 PM
I didn’t think the interview was cruel or hostile. She was asking about the girl’s reaction to all the nasty criticism.
I think Rebecca does have a nice voice. I have doubts about the wisdom of making her a sensation at 13, but it’s happened before.
When Walt Disney was alive the Mickey Mouse Club was all about giving young talented kids an introduction to show business, but he was very concerned about making sure they weren’t overwhelmed by it. I don’t think the Disney Company did the same for the stars it has turned out, such as Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Christina Aquilera. I worry about Rebecca getting shoved through that sausage factory.
flataffect on March 19, 2011 at 7:44 PM
We most certainly are not. Which is why I have problems with people piling onto this young woman because they feel that what she produced should have addressed one of the great issues of our times.
When I go to a movie, I go to a place where, for a few hours, I can escape the great issues of our time. Movies (like Avatar) which try to bring those issues front and center don’t get a view from me. I want my leisure time to be leisure time, if that makes any kind of sense.
Given that Rebecca can creditably and without embarrassment sing at least the first few stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner and do it “straight”, she is far ahead of her peers (and quite a few adults) in my estimation.
unclesmrgol on March 19, 2011 at 8:51 PM
19 now, so moving pretty quickly.
I’m curious to find out the sales figured, but iTunes doesn’t release that number. So at least she’s getting paid something for the fame/notoriety involved in being an internet sensation.
gekkobear on March 19, 2011 at 11:01 PM
The harvest in 2016 will be even better…
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/164634/nice-looking-corn
Dukeboy01 on March 20, 2011 at 11:52 AM
After reading this, and seeing that idiot on video (the so-called reporter) I have to ask my self “WHO F’ING CARES”! This crap IS NOT NEWS!
Confederate on March 21, 2011 at 11:02 AM
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