Rebecca Black was born on June 21, 1997, in Anaheim Hills, California. She is the daughter of John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly, both veterinarians, and is of Spanish, Italian, Polish, and English descent. An honor student, Black studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA.
In late 2010, a classmate of Black and music-video client of ARK Music Factory, a Los Angeles label, told her about the company. Black's mother paid $4,000 for Ark Music to produce her daughter's music video while the Blacks retained ownership of the master. The single, "Friday", written entirely by Ark, was released on YouTube and iTunes. The song's video was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011, and received approximately 1,000 views in the first month. The video went viral on March 11, 2011, acquiring millions of views on YouTube in a matter of days, becoming the most-talked-about topic on social networking site Twitter, and garnering mostly negative media coverage. As of June 14, 2011, the video had received more than 3,190,000 "dislikes" on YouTube compared to more than 451,000 "likes". As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by Billboard. Black appeared on the March 22, 2011 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it. The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively. In the UK, the song debuted at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart.
In an interview with The Sun, Black said that she is recording a new song for possible release as a single. She is currently working without a record deal. She also said that she is preparing materials for her debut album at Flying Pig Productions studio in Los Angeles containing songs with themes similar to that of "Friday", as she wants it to be "appropriate and clean." Black teamed up with Funny or Die on April Fools Day (the site was renamed Friday or Die) for a series of videos, including one which addresses the controversy about the driving kids in her music video, stating "We so excited about safety." She has also stated that she is a fan of Justin Bieber, and expressed interest in performing a duet with him.
In response to the YouTube video of "Friday", Black began to receive death threats in late February 2011, specifically by phone and email. These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.
As an homage to "Friday", Black appears in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", in which Black plays along side Perry as her best friend.
In the years following her initial viral success, Rebecca Black has released a number of musical projects. These include multiple collaborative singles with other vocalists, notably Kurt Hugo Schneider and Dave Days.
After releasing the single "The Great Divide", Black put out the 2017 EP "RE / BL" via Teall Records.
Following this, Black continued to release music independently. These included "Sweetheart", "Anyway", and double-sided single "Self Sabotage / Closer".
In February 2021, Rebecca Black released a "maximalist" hyperpop remix of Friday, celebrating the ten-year anniversary of her original viral hit. This remix featured production from Dylan Brady, as well as additional vocals from Dorian Electra, 3OH!3, and Big Freedia.
Using the popularity of the remix as a springboard, Black self-released her second EP "Rebecca Black Was Here" in June 2021, supported by the singles "Girlfriend", "Worth It For The Feeling", and "Personal".
Better in My Memory
Rebecca Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't wanna feel this
I hate the memories we made, mm
I got secrets
Been up so sleepless
I need these memories to change
(Da da da da da)
I'm gonna turn it off
(Da da da da da)
'Cause I've had way too much
(Da da da da da)
I'm gonna turn it off, turn it off
Reprogramming our history so its
Perfect in my mind
Changing the way it ended so you
Never see me cry
Better in my memory
One place that you'll never leave
Turn you into what I need, what I need
You're better in my memory, memory, memory
Something's missing
The plot needs twisting
Replace these thoughts in my head
The truth needs Fixing
Our time rewritten
The good things we never did
Reprogramming our history so its
Perfect in my mind
Changing the way it ended so you
Never see me cry
Better in my memory
One place that you'll never leave
Turn you into what I need, what I need
You're better in my memory, memory, memory
You're better in my memory, memory, memory
One place that you'll never leave, never leave
Turn you into what I need, what I need
What I need, what I need
What I need, what I-what I
Better in my memo-memo-memory
One place that you'll never leave
Turn you into what I need, what I need
Better in my memo-memo-memory, memo-memo-memory
Bring me to my
Oh, you bring me to my knees
Forget every
I'm forgetting everything
Bring me to my
Oh, you bring me to my knees
Forget every
I'm forgetting everything
In Rebecca Black's Better in My Memory, the singer delves into a past relationship that has left them feeling uneasy and burdened by memories that they wish to erase. The opening lines show that the singer is experiencing emotions that they don't want to feel, and they hate the memories that the relationship has brought them. The following lines show that the singer has secrets that are keeping them up at night, and they want these memories to change. By saying "I'm gonna make it stop, I'm gonna turn it off," the singer is trying to take control of the situation and erase the memories altogether.
The chorus shows that the singer is attempting to rewrite history by making the memories of the past relationship perfect in their mind, taking away any negative feelings that were associated with it. The singer wants to change the way the relationship ended so that they never have to see the other person cry. The bridge of the song emphasizes the singer's desire to forget the past and move on, saying "you bring me to my knees, I'm forgetting everything."
Better in My Memory is a powerful song about a toxic relationship and the emotional weight it can leave behind. The singer's struggle to erase the past and move forward is a relatable experience that many people can identify with.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been feeling
I've been experiencing an emotion
Don't wanna feel this
I don't want to experience this feeling
I hate the memories we made, mm
I dislike the memories of our past experiences
I got secrets
I have things I don't want to share
Been up so sleepless
I have been unable to sleep
I need these memories to change
I want these memories to be different
I'm gonna make it stop
I am going to put an end to this
(Da da da da da)
Instrumental
I'm gonna turn it off
I am going to shut down this experience
Reprogramming our history so its
Rewriting our past so that it appears
Perfect in my mind
Flawless in my recollection
Changing the way it ended so you
Altering the way our past concluded so that
Never see me cry
You do not witness me shedding tears
Better in my memory
Improved when remembered
One place that you'll never leave
A single locale that you will never exit
Turn you into what I need, what I need
Transform you into my necessity
Something's missing
Something essential is absent
The plot needs twisting
The story requires alteration
Replace these thoughts in my head
Exchange these thoughts in my mind
The truth needs Fixing
The truth necessitates repair
Our time rewritten
Our past altered
The good things we never did
The positive occurrences that never took place
You're better in my memory, memory, memory
You are finer in my recall
Bring me to my
Take me to a particular location
Oh, you bring me to my knees
You make me feel powerless
Forget every
Erase every
I'm forgetting everything
I am in the process of forgetting everything
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Rebecca Black, Micah Jasper, David Charles Fischer, Cecilia Gomez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind