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Opinion | You are similar to Rebecca Black

Chris DeNicola, Columnist

Rebecca Black has taught me one thing: you don't have to have that much talent to become successful overnight. Her song "Friday" was posted this past February on YouTube and it already has over 100 million views, according to a recent USA Today article. Black has been hosted on talk shows and been interviewed, while her song has been dubbed as one of the worst songs ever written. It is miserable. Don't get me wrong, there is pretty much nothing good about that song. However, Black has made me reconsider what used to make me upset. I used to get pissed off about people who got famous for having no talent (i.e. the cast of Jersey Shore). Now, however, I'm taking a step back and realizing that, if I had the chance, I'd probably do the same thing.

Think about it. If someone told you we're going to write you a song and make a music video for you to see if we can't jump start a singing career, you'd jump right on the opportunity right? I know I would, especially if other people were doing most of the heavy lifting. Black's mom went to a record company with a few grand and basically said she wanted them to make her daughter a song. Shows what you can do with a few thousand dollars. However, knowing this, you'll realize that 13-year-old Rebecca didn't even write the song. All she did was sing it. People have been tearing her apart because of how bad the lyrics are but those lyrics were put together by adults working for Ark Music Factory, a record label in Los Angeles. Black just had to show up and do as she was told.

It is pretty much a no brainer. Even if Black did not realize the song would become so popular, I don't really know who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like that.

It's very much like how I used to hate the Jonas Brothers (which, musically, I still do) but I realize now that if the Disney Channel had come to me when I was a little kid and said "Hey, we're going to put you on TV." I would have said, "Yippee!" There's no doubt that any parent wouldn't do the same. Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears came out of the Mickey Mouse Club. Their parents seized similar opportunities and it paid off in fortune and fame.

That's the American way. If you can find a way to make some money you do it, the easier the better. Mrs. Black's few thousands are paying off big time. Who knows if she'll fall off the face of the earth? What is guaranteed though is that she is so far out in the spotlight now that anything that she comes out with is bound to be a hit, even if only for the same curiosity that made "Friday" so popular. The only reason I looked the song up is that I thought there was no way the song could have been that bad. That and the fact that everyone and their mother were talking about it. The same thing will happen with her next couple songs. People will listen, even if they shouldn't.

This may make many people upset. But it isn't her fault. Much like it is completely the American public's fault that the cast of the Jersey Shore makes six figures an episode for their next season for having absolutely no talent. I would venture to say that Black has more talent than the whole Shore cast combined. But then again, we're fueling it. We're watching and listening and giving them our undivided attention while at home we all know people who are much more talented and deserving of fortune and fame. Don't be mad at Black or the Jonas Brothers, or Justin Bieber or even the Jersey Shore cast. Be mad at yourself and the rest of the American viewers and listeners. In the end some people just walk into the light and if you had the same chance, you would too.