Viral singer who made ‘worst song in existence’ returns to music after receiving death threats
14 years is a long time in the world of pop.
A pop singer who went viral aged 13 after releasing ‘the worst song in existence’ has wowed fans after a sensational return to music.
Rebecca Black, now 27, was just two months shy of her 14th birthday when her song Friday dropped on YouTube and immediately went viral.
Friday was produced by the ARK Music Factory and its founder Patrice Wilson, who offered young singers a chance at fame by writing pop songs for them to record.
However, many songs released by the label were widely panned for their cheap production values and simplistic lyrics – including Friday, which remains the most notorious song from the ARK label.
Almost as soon as it was released, Friday was hammered by pop fans and critics as Rebecca became a subject of ridicule on social media, despite still being a child.
The song became an instant meme, even being called ‘the worst song in existence,’ while the video was also mocked for featuring awkward dancing and acting from its teenage stars.
Later in 2011, things went from bad to worse when Rebecca and her parents became embroiled in a legal battle with ARK over the rights to the song itself.
A 13-year-old Rebecca even received death threats after the song racked up millions of views on YouTube and reached the top 100 on the US and UK pop charts.
But now, more than a decade after Friday’s release, fans on social media are saying very different things about Rebecca’s sensational return.
Between 2012 and 2017, Rebecca made numerous attempts to start a proper pop career, but these received only moderate attention, with very few songs matching Friday’s popularity.
A lot’s changed for Rebecca in the last 14 years (Picture: YouTube/Rebecca Black)However, things started to change after Friday’s 10th anniversary, when Rebecca released a remixed version of the song alongside Beyoncé collaborator Big Freedia.
The remix was welcomed by fans and the video for the song racked up more than five million views on YouTube – the renewed interest in Rebecca’s music resulted in her debut album, Let Her Burn, in 2023.
And this week, the release of her brand new EP Salvation has shocked those who remember when Rebecca was just a 13-year-old girl who didn’t know which ‘seat to take’ in the car on her way to school.
Friday’s music video was slammed in 2011 as Rebecca became an online hate figure (Picture: YouTube/Rebecca Black)BFFR5150 said: ‘If you would’ve told me freshman year of high school that This is where Rebecca Black would be I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But I’m seated!’
ArabicEgyptianKid commented on YouTube, ‘From having the most hated song on the internet to this – she’s grown so much,’ while EricMacedo celebrated the ‘yassification of Rebecca Black’.
FriendOwo celebrated how things had changed for Rebecca over the last 14 years: ‘Always been a fan, since the Friday days. This song is beautiful and the music video is just as awesome – it’s so empowering.’
‘I can look back and see that I was just trying my best’ (Picture: YouTube/Rebecca Black)The song Salvation is taken from her EP of the same name, which was released at the end of February 2025 and has already received millions of streams on Spotify and Apple Music.
Other songs from the EP include the 2024 single Trust and Sugar Water Cyanide, both of which were released with accompanying music videos.
In 2020, Rebecca told Metro that her overnight viral fame wasn’t easy: ‘It was definitely difficult. I can look back and see that I was just trying my best. And so in that way, it doesn’t feel bad to look back on.
‘I got to work with people like Katy Perry. I won a Teen Choice Award. I was going through all these amazing, crazy things – but at the same time, there were definitely a lot of moments that felt a bit dark.
‘It’s a mixed bag. But at the end of the day, I was just a teenager just trying my best, trying to figure out what it all meant.’
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