Our obsession with Rebecca Black and her new video "My Moment"
(CBS) - It all began as a joke. In the spring of 2011, Rebecca Black's YouTube video "Friday" began spreading across blogs and bulletin boards online. The general commentary was self-congratulation for discovering something so wonderfully awful to laugh at.
Hurray! The Internet made a new funny.
It became a meme almost overnight. Once the young teenager's name started trending, people took notice. The song that her parents paid $4,000 to produce was covered by the likes of Stephen Colbert on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and the cast of "Glee" on the popular television show.
Then, people who were not in on the original joke became curious about the rising teen singer. She was invited to "On-Air" with Ryan Seacrest and the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Pop star Katy Perry even put her in a music video.
And now, we have a new Rebecca Black video on our hands (because we need it?). On July 18, the bubbly brunette released "My Moment," a formulaic pop song with another annoyingly memorable hook. It has received over 6 million views in just two days. (Really.)
The online world is full of pranksters, but even the best practical jokes backfire. Just like our obsession with "Rick Rolling" built up affection for '90s crooner Rick Astley.
What have you done, Internet?! (Hangs head in shame. Misses keyboard cat.)