Rebecca Black

Rebecca Renee Black was born in Irvine, California, to veterinarians John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly. Her mother is a Mexican immigrant, while her father is of English, Italian, and Polish descent. Black attended private school before moving to public school because of bullying, then switched to homeschooling in April 2011 to focus on her career and avoid taunts from former classmates.

Black has spoken about depression during her teenage years after the scrutiny surrounding "Friday". She came out as queer during an episode of the Dating Straight podcast in April 2020 and later described herself as queer, bisexual, pansexual, and gay. She has been dating sound engineer Veronika Wyman since 2020, and she has no children.

A classmate introduced Black to Los Angeles record label ARK Music Factory in late 2010. Her mother paid for the production of the "Friday" music video, while the Black family retained ownership of the master recording and video. Uploaded to YouTube in February 2011, the video initially attracted about 1,000 views during its first month before going viral in March.

"Friday" generated extensive media attention, much of it negative, but it also became a commercial success. The single peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached number 33 in New Zealand, and debuted at number 61 in the United Kingdom. Black performed it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, appeared in Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" video, and hosted a segment of YouTube Rewind 2011 after the video became YouTube's most-viewed video of that year.

The sudden attention also brought phone and email death threats, which were investigated by the Anaheim Police Department. A dispute over the song and video led to "Friday" being temporarily removed from YouTube. After the fallout with ARK Music Factory, Black founded the independent label RB Records.

Black released the self-produced single "My Moment" in July 2011, followed by "Person of Interest", "Sing It", and "In Your Words". Her planned debut album from this period was never released. In 2012, she joined the Maker Studios YouTube network and continued posting original songs, covers, blogs, and question-and-answer videos.

In 2013, Black released "Saturday" with Dave Days as a sequel to "Friday". It became her second single to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 55. She later returned with "The Great Divide", which reached number 23 on the U.S. Dance chart, and released the RE / BL EP in 2017.

Black also competed on the second season of Fox's The Four: Battle for Stardom in 2018. She performed "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC and later sang "Torn", but was eliminated after the audience favored James Graham. Her 2019 and 2020 releases included "Anyway", "Do You?", "Sweetheart", and "Self Sabotage", and she appeared on Dorian Electra's song "Edgelord".

Black marked the tenth anniversary of "Friday" in 2021 with a hyperpop remix produced by Dylan Brady of 100 gecs and featuring 3OH!3, Big Freedia, and Dorian Electra. That year she released the EP Rebecca Black Was Here, which included the songs "Girlfriend", "Personal", and "Worth It for the Feeling". The project was nominated for Self-Released Record of the Year at the 2022 Libera Awards.

Her debut studio album, Let Her Burn, was released independently on February 9, 2023. The album was preceded by the singles "Crumbs", "Look at You", and "Sick to My Stomach" and received generally favorable reviews. Black supported it with the Let Her Burn Tour, including performances in the United Kingdom, North America, and Canada.

Black released her second studio album, Salvation, on February 27, 2025, after its release was postponed from January. She performed a DJ set at Boiler Room in 2024, joined Katy Perry as a supporting act on The Lifetimes Tour, and was named the official after-party DJ for the American Music Awards in 2025. Her third studio album, Age of the Exhibitionist, is scheduled for release on September 4, 2026.

Black's screen credits include the documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me, the web series Life After Friday, and an appearance on Netflix's Is It Cake?. She voiced Penny in the English dub of Legend of a Rabbit and appeared in the short film Okay Google.

She has also appeared in music videos by Katy Perry, Dorian Electra, and other artists. Her work as a YouTube creator includes regular videos, covers, blogs, and question-and-answer programs, extending the online presence that first brought her widespread attention.