The singer discussed what she’s been up to in isolation, wanting to collaborate with SOPHIE and Charli XCX, and speaking out about the fallout from ‘Friday’
Rebecca Black’s career was quite literally born on the internet, with the YouTube release of “Friday” in 2011. Since then, it’s not been a smooth ride for the singer – who marked the nine year anniversary of the track by speaking out about the backlash on social media – but along the way she’s carved out a successful career in music and some wisdom about online relationships along with it.
Now that most of us are living life online due to coronavirus lockdowns, that wisdom is more useful than ever, and Black was willing to share it – and more – as she went live on Instagram with Dazed Digital Editor Anna Cafolla yesterday (April 3).
Here’s what we learned.
SHE’S FINDING A HEALTHY BALANCE FOR HER TIME SPENT IN ISOLATION
“There’s no correct way to survive a pandemic,” said Rebecca Black, but she did have some advice to try and make the best of it. “At first I felt this need that I know a lot of other creators have been feeling, to make the most of this time and to use this as an opportunity,” she said, but also that the pressure to be creative isn’t always on; it’s also a chance to slow down and reflect: “All of us have to realise that none of us are machines.”
“Some days, like yesterday, I booked everything out to try to be productive and that feels really good for me,” she added, “but I also watched Tiger King twice now. I never let myself watch TV or watch binging Netflix shows like that, so… I’m trying to keep a balance.”
TECHNOLOGY CAN BE A HELPFUL TOOL IN TIMES LIKE THESE
Like pretty much everyone else, technology has also played a role in how Black has adapted to being isolated. She explained that she’s “started doing writing sessions with writers over Zoom” and that she’s also had more of a chance to connect with fans: “I’ve been enjoying just having the time to be with my community and my audience, which is very reminiscent to when I first started making YouTube videos years ago.” This probably isn’t that surprising, given that Black is a self-proclaimed “kid of the internet”.
“I always have been,” she added, explaining that it gave her a sense of community growing up. “Before I ever had anything for myself I spent so much of my free time finding friends, finding people that I really connected with, like the first generation of online creators. I was seeking comfort in them.”
HER RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS
Discussing social media, Black acknowledged that it is “now such an integral part of work” as a musician. However, she also pointed out some of the negatives, and how to try and avoid them. “It’s so easy to become a caricature of yourself,” she says, “which I did for a long time, especially because I started so young. I felt like for so long I was the same person, even though I had changes in my actual life.”
The key, she suggested – though she admitted she’s “definitely still working on it” – is to find a bit of separation between “who you are versus what you’re presenting to people”, and learn to accept compliments and praise where they’re due.
THE NEW TRACKS ‘SELF SABOTAGE’ AND ‘CLOSER’ DREW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
“Self Sabotage” and “Closer” released mid-March, and when asked about the meaning behind them, Black explained: “They’re both about the same relationship… ‘Self Sabotage’ specifically was something I knew I needed to write about for so long because I definitely have a habit, as many of us do, of really getting in my own way and sabotaging myself.”
“It’s almost like your body just does that unintentionally and blocks you from having a successful relationship or things that you really want.”
HER OTHER INSPIRATIONS INCLUDE VISUAL ARTS SUCH AS FASHION AND BEAUTY
“The internet is your oyster,” she said, in response to a question about how musicians can find their voice and break into the industry, citing Dazed cover star Billie Eilish as a prime example. However, Black also made it clear that social media is a source of her own inspiration, because it gives us “so much access to so many amazing artists in whatever form that they're in, whether it’s fashion, or beauty, or music”.
Asked about her favourite make up artists, she said: “I love Terry Barber because their style is just so inspired by a lot of really gritty, graphic things and I think that that translates so beautifully. I think that’s probably my number one. And then the artists that I work with, who have known me for years, that are amazing. I love Jill Powell, who did my makeup for the cover art for Self Sabotage and Closer. I love anybody who’s not afraid to do something different.”
SHE WANTS TO COLLAB WITH SOPHIE AND CHARLI XCX
On her dream collaborators, she said: “Probably SOPHIE, something that’s much more unexpected than anything. That is always really fun for me to hear as a listener. Either a SOPHIE or a Charli XCX. I love her.” Honestly? A trio that dreams are made of.
AND ALSO WANTS TO GUEST JUDGE ON DRAG RACE
“I’ve probably harassed them more than anybody else,” she says of the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I fully have it as a fantasy of my own to be on that show and have two queens lipsync to Friday. I don’t want them to lipsync to anything else other than that song. I would live for it.” It’s probably safe to say that she wouldn’t be alone.
THE EFFECTS OF ‘FRIDAY’ WERE EXTREME, BUT TALKING ABOUT THEM HELPED
On the nine year anniversary of “Friday” hitting the internet, Rebecca Black spoke out in an Instagram post about her struggles surrounding the backlash to the track. Asked about the message in the Instagram live, she said: “I didn’t really know if people would give two seconds to give it some thought.”
“I was just like: ‘You know, it would feel really nice for me to be honest about how these kind of days feel.’ I just realised that I hadn’t really been so honest, and maybe somebody somewhere would read it and connect to it. It was also very cathartic to me to just speak about a situation that had a lot of positives, but also had a lot of lasting effects on me and who I’ve become.”
“It ended up being kind of like a letter to myself.”