Remember two weeks ago? You were at school, or in your office, or checking your phone, and someone texted you or posted on your wall about this horrible YouTube video that you just had to see? The lyrics were awful, there was a strange rap sequence, and no one could figure out why it even existed. If it came out today, we would have all thought it was an elaborate April Fools Day joke.
But it wasn’t.
No, Rebecca Black’s Friday was unfortunately real, and it became a huge hit–or at least–widely viewed. People loved to hate the video making it the most disliked video on YouTube.
And yet people kept on sharing it.
Soon, Black was a guest on ABC, and the media raised the question of cyberbullying. Were people being too cruel?
(quick note: While I think the song is horrible and the video is ridiculous, I do think some of the online comments were beyond mean as people encouraged Black to kill herself. Wrong, mean, disgusting. But that is a different blog post).
Still, Black continued to appear in facebook newsfeeds and as a twitter trending topic. Reports of sales on iTunes became public. Was Black getting rich off this horrible song?
And then we come to today. The song really hit its stride just over two weeks ago and now there is hardly a mention of it online other than the publicized removal of the video earlier this week and its quick reinstatement.
I’ll admit I’ve wanted to write a blog about this video since I first saw it. Two weeks ago, I visited with several students out in Connecticut and we talked about the video before the start of a leadership conference. We all agreed it was a horrible song and video.
But it was published. It became popular.
Is this success? Is Rebecca Black a famous pop artist now? Will we still be talking about her a year from now?
My guess is no.
Rebecca Black’s family attempted to purchase instant fame. Pay $2,000 and record a music video. We’ll provide the music. We’ll provide the lyrics. We’ll upload it.
I don’t fault Black for a desire to be a performer. I don’t doubt that she loves to sing.
I take issue with the method that Black went about reaching this goal. A method we all tend to favor from time to time.
The Shortcut.
If Black really wanted to sing and perform, why did she write her own song? Why didn’t she wait for the right song? Why didn’t she take a few more vocal lessons instead of relying so heavily on autotune?
The answer: the shortcut is easier.
I watched the full ABC news story on her and listened to her acoustic rendition of Friday. Her singing voice isn’t perfect yet, but it’s definitely way better than my voice is even now. With some extra lessons, she might actually have a chance to one day do something although maybe not on a national stage.
Still, she (and her parents) picked this song and recorded this video and put their stamp on of approval on it. Sadly, she will be known for quite sometime as the Friday girl.
Contrast that with another YouTube sensation, Boyce Avenue. Their covers of popular songs have combined for over 250 million views on YouTube. They started posting in 2007. Their first videos lacked a lot o the polish of their latest, but their talent is present throughout. (Check out their recent covers of Just the Way You Are, Firework, and Fast Car.) During this time, they were also able to write and record their own original pieces. Now, they are in the middle on an international tour.
Long story short, there are far too many one hit wonders, and very few overnight successes.
Most people who achieve success spend countless hours perfecting their craft and enhancing their skill. Yet, we tend to get addicted to the quick route. We follow American Idol and cheer on the winner, but very few of those winners are still popular today. We want our path to success to simply be “fun, fun, fun, fun” but the truth is that while we may have joy during the journey, it tends to be a longer journey and it requires hard work.
We shouldn’t live the CliffsNotes version of life. We need to grow. We need to develop. We need to stretch ourselves.
It’s definitely difficult at times, but the end result is always worth it.
Enjoy your Friday!