It’s Friday!
It’s been five years since Rebecca Black, 19, took the Internet by storm with the release of her hit “Friday,” and the singer sat down with PEOPLE Now to look back on the now-iconic song.
“It’s insane to think it was only five years ago, but I’ve also grown so much,” says Black. “I feel like I’m a completely different person.”
Black was 13 years old when “Friday” was first released and reached over 100 million views. “That first moment was like ‘Oh my God,'” she says.
The overnight YouTube sensation explains that the amount of attention the video received was completely unexpected. “That song was never meant to do what it did,” says Black.
Much of the attention Black received for the song at the time wasn’t exactly positive. The taunting from classmates even lead Black to withdraw from her Anaheim Hills, California school to be homeschooled by her mother.
But not everything to come out of the release of “Friday” was negative. Black found a fan in Simon Cowell, and she got to meet Ryan Seacrest — who then set up her Twitter account for her.
“He was really sweet,” Black says of Seacrest. “That was my first follower, I believe.”
Once Black’s account was set up, she worked with Seacrest to craft the perfect first Tweet.
As for what was in it? There was “definitely a #wesoexcited” — plus a selfie, says the star.
Though a lot has changed for Black over the years, “I will always love a piece of Friday because it’s my own song,” she says.
