A Haiku for Rebecca Black

A Haiku is a three-line Japanese poem that uses a 5 syllables-7 syllables-5 syllables rule and paints a visual image for the reader.

Here's a haiku I wrote for Rebecca Black, the tween who is getting unfairly lambasted for her successful YouTube music video, "Friday":


THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
YouTube's wide brown eyes
Savor, share, then spew hatred
Revealing green eyes 

Although I do love Friday, Friday, Friday, I do not like "Friday," the song that nests in my brain just above the spot where really bad YouTube videos are stored. I do, however, feel bad that this pretty young girl, just a year older than my oldest but with 15 million views of her video, is on the receiving end of such venom. She never said she was a rock star - she's a newbie... just starting out, learning, having fun with friends. 


Parody videos are fun and part of the YouTube culture, but there's no reason for people to call Rebecca names or label her "the worst ever" - she's 13 for cripes sake! Don't you remember William Hung? "She bangs! She bangs!" And that kid was 20 and an engineering student.


Rebecca is taking the comments in stride after getting lots of good advice from smart professionals, and showing that beyond the horrible autotune, the girl has some chops... she can actually sing a little.  Let's face it: the National Anthem is not an easy tune.

What do you suppose we could accomplish if the collective energy spent "hating" on a tween just trying to get a start was spent trying to help Japan?  I downloaded from iTunes this morning a 38-track album called "A Song For Japan".  You can buy it here; proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross for relief efforts. 


Don't be a hater. Be a helper.