Black "Friday" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Youtube

"Friday" was a clear indicator of the power of the internet. Youtube, created in 2005, became one of the Internet's most-visited sites in subsequent years and was acquired by Google in 2010. Without Youtube, "Friday" may never have been as famous as it was.

After being uploaded to the site on February 10th, 2011, the video only took in a couple thousand viewers but this number surged in the following weeks. In less than three months, the video had amassed over one hundred thirty million views, and perhaps it was for all the wrong reasons.

Answer: Ark Music Factory

According to Black, the song was a gift from her parents as part of a 'make your own music video' package and her parents paid four thousand dollars to produce the video through Ark Music Factory, a company which allows teens to star in their own video with an original song. Unsurprisingly, the owners of this company made headlines in 2011 for their role in bringing what many consider 'the worst song ever' to fruition (including the songwriting credits), but the bad publicity didn't stop them from continuing to release other 'undiscovered' teen performers on their Youtube account and website. Black has stated that the producers gave her a choice between two songs; one can only imagine the other offering.

Answer: The bus stop

The beginning of the video speeds along at an unreasonable pace beginning with Black waking up at 7:00am, grabbing a bowl of cereal, getting ready for school, and following an otherwise typical weekday routine. When she makes her way out to the bus stop, that's where she sees her friends (who, I may add, are also in their early teens), one of whom is driving a convertible. This is where it really gets interesting, of course.

For those following along, here are some of the inane lyrics leading up to this crucial moment:
"7:00am, waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs.
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal.
Seein' everything, the time is going
Tickin' on and on, everybody's rushin'
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends."

Suffice to say, she doesn't take the bus anywhere. After all, it's Friday, the perfect day to do some illegal joy riding.

Answer: Deciding which seat of the car to sit in

The moment the underage drivers pull up to the bus stop, Rebecca's mind is already racing. Should she be "kickin' in the front seat"? Should she be "sittin' in the back seat"? She knows she has to make her mind up, but this question of "which seat will I take" recurs far too many times in the song. Ultimately, it seems that she sits in the back of the car, up above the seat so as to enjoy the city lights with her friend by her right side.

Again, for those following along:
"7:45, we're drivin' on the highway,
Cruisin' so fast, I want time to fly.
Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is.
I got this, you got this.
My friend is by my right, ay.
I got this, you got this,
Now you know it."

Answer: The weekend

This one comes to us straight from the chorus.
"It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday.
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend.
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday.
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend.
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun.
Lookin' forward to the weekend."

Shortly after the release and viral spreading of the single, the chorus became instantly-known around the world appearing in ringtones, on radios, and on computer screens everywhere. Many can gather the rather simplistic writing style just from this.
Of course, it doesn't end there. While listeners are treated to more "fun, fun, fun, fun" from the chorus throughout the song, Black's Friday is far from over. As the music video continues, she shows up at a party (it's a miracle they didn't crash on the highway) and begins singing on stage for all of her friends.

Answer: "Friday means the end of the school week."

Sure enough, the bridge of the song doesn't elaborate any further on what we anticipate; in fact, most of it is common sense. This part of the music video features the image of Rebecca Black flipped through a notebook of lined paper.

"Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday.
Today it is Friday, Friday.
We we we so excited,
We so excited;
We gonna have a ball today.
Tomorrow is Saturday,
And Sunday comes afterwards
I don't want this weekend to end."

As if we needed more, one of the owners of Ark Music Factory appears onscreen driving a car in front of a green screen. And he raps.

"R.B., Rebecca Black.
So chillin' in the front seat,
In the back seat.
I'm drivin', cruisin'
Fast lanes, switchin' lanes
Wit' a car up on my side.
Passin' by is a school bus in front of me
Makes tick tock, tick tock, I wanna scream.
Check my time, it's Friday, it's a weekend.
We gonna have fun, c'mon, c'mon, y'all."

Answer: Auto-tune

Auto-tune is a technique used by many music producers to ensure that their artists sing on-tune at all costs, and it does so by manipulating the vocals to raise or lower the pitch to the required note. Many artists after the 1990s ended up utilizing this software (which actually came with basic sound programs like "GarageBand") but many have also cried out against auto-tune suggesting that it ruins the authenticity of the music.

While many criticized the auto-tune in Black's "Friday", Ark Music stated that her track contained minimal voice enhancement. Wobble bass is more characteristic of the dubstep sub-genre, of which "Friday" is not a part.

Answer: Tosh.0

"Tosh.0" is a comedy show hosted by Daniel Tosh which features clips of viral videos from around the world and sometimes-witty, sometimes-blatant criticisms therein. Rebecca Black's "Friday" appeared on the "Tosh.0" website in March 2011 and continued to spread from there. Since Black's rise to notoriety, she's appeared on countless talk shows (including "Late Night with David Letterman") to explain the progression from unknown teenager to overnight viral sensation. Of course, many interviewers ask her how she deals with the negative reception of her video (go figure).

After all, "Friday", in its first few months online, generated millions of 'dislikes' on its Youtube page.

Answer: Glee

Appearing in the twentieth episode of the show's second season (entitled "Prom Night"), "Friday" was one of the many songs performed at the McKinley High School prom. In the show, it was sung by Puck (played by Mark Salling), Sam (played by Chord Overstreet), and Artie (played by Kevin McHale) on stage.

A clear indicator that an artist has made it: they show up on "Glee". The song was released as a "Glee" single during the week of the episode's airing (May 10, 2011) though it never appeared on the show's official soundtrack albums. Many other artists have featured the song in concert play lists (including Katy Perry), solidifying its place in popular culture.

Answer: April Fool's Day

Dubbed 'Black Friday', the April Fools gag orchestrated by "Funny or Die" involved plastering Rebecca Black's face all over the site. She was featured in over half a dozen videos about herself and the song, "Friday", and remained there for a week before the site returned to its normal state.

The gag was also known as 'Friday or Die'. "Funny or Die" was created in 2006 and has since become a major outlet for comedic actors to showcase short videos and skits for internet surfers. The major gimmick is that videos voted funny gain prominence on the site's directories, while those rated 'Die' are dropped to the bottom. All of the Rebecca Black videos were protected from this rating system.