Rebecca black who is

If she paid for studio time and hired a producer, not to mention footed the bill for production of an entire music video, she says, "that would cost so much more. Wilson defended his business model in a bizarre faux press conference he self-published in to address criticism that he exploited children and their parents.

Is that a bad deal? That doesn't bother me. Black, Swerdlow, Adamson — all are doing fine now, a decade after their videos became the center of the internet's attention for all the wrong reasons. But looking back, it can be easy to forget just how young they were when they put their trust in "professionals" they were told had their best interests at heart. The difference that just a few years can make is most evident in Adamson's experience. At 17, she was the oldest of ARK's viral clients, and describes an experience that looked much different than year-old Swerdlow's or year-old Black's.

And Adamson believed a light, upbeat video — like so many Disney Channel music videos — would be a perfect talent showcase for submissions and castings. A showbiz veteran relative to girls like Black, who learned of ARK through a friend, Adamson approached Wilson and Jey with some hesitancy, which she notes took the duo by surprise.

When she told Patrice she would explore her options after he offered her a spot with ARK, she says he was taken aback. Unlike many of the other music videos, including "Friday" and even "My Jeans," Adamson's "Armour" did not feature a rap verse. Instead, Adamson chose to write a bridge for the song, which Wilson shrugged off "Fine, no one really does that, but OK," she says he told her.

She also altered some of the "trashy" lyrics that he had written. Lyrics aside, Adamson notes that the recording session "was all really professional, and they were very respectful and complimentary. Adamson's age and experience not only set her up for what is objectively a better music video and song, but the ability to better deal with the criticism. By the time the video blew up, she was in college.

I mean, it sucked," she admits of not only the negative comments, but the association with Black and ARK Music Factory. YouTube featured "Armour" as a suggested video alongside "Friday. Everyone in my sorority, and all the fraternities, they'd play it, and they were all really supportive and it was really awesome," she says.

Shortly after, Jey left the company and ARK dissolved. But Wilson didn't stop chasing the money — and the limelight. Wilson monetized ARK's music videos, which together have hundreds of millions of views. According to Business Insider , 1 million views can fetch creators thousands of dollars per year depending on the number of channel subscribers and ad placements.

Following the viral success of "Friday," Wilson also made multiple media appearances, including a guest spot on Good Morning America , where he hosted a "talent competition" seeking the next viral ARK Music Factory star. However, rather than move in the direction of cheesy love songs like "Armour," Wilson produced more viral hits like " It's Thanksgiving " by Nicole Westbrook, and perhaps most infamously, " Chinese Food ," by Alison Gold.

The songs were so obnoxiously tasteless pardon the pun that they verged on camp. They appeared relatively harmless, save for some racist undertones in "Chinese Food," but the girls were nonetheless bullied and parodied online while Wilson reaped the tangential fame and money.

Then came the videos for "Skip Rope" and "Shush Up," performed by Gold, which were eventually banned on YouTube for their thinly veiled adult themes children addicted to a mysterious white powdered candy, a child in an electric chair and inappropriate costuming in "Shush Up," Gold, then 10, wears a two-piece metallic spandex outfit.

Similarly to Swerdlow's "O. Rogers, peers through the window of a dollhouse into what appears to be Gold's bedroom. The public soon became wise to the common denominator behind these viral videos, and Wilson stopped producing videos with young girls after These days, he's promoting conspiracy theories about the "deep state" on the website "Christian Transparency. Read: Noisy, ugly, and addictive. Black herself has only very recently begun to answer the question of who she wants to be.

Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic. Popular Latest. The Atlantic Crossword. Sign In Subscribe. If you're eager to know, keep on reading! You may have thought that "Friday" was Rebecca's only experience in music, which isn't true! It was definitely her big break into the industry, but it for sure wasn't the end game. Since then, she has released a ton of music that has gotten a lot of love like "Girlfriend," "Self Sabotage," "Closer," and "Sweetheart" to name a few.

She's been out here securing her bags! Just recently, she surprised the world with a special remix of her hit song "Friday" in honor of its year anniversary that features artists Dorian Electra, Big Freedia, and 3OH!

That's a way to pay homage! A post shared by Rebecca Black msrebeccablack. When she gained fame for her singing, she also started her YouTube channel where she has been curating videos for about a decade. Not only does she post videos showcasing her musical talents, but she also makes vlogs about her daily life. On top of that, she films clothing hauls and makeup and cooking tutorials.