Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ Turns 1 on a Friday: What’s Your Favorite Memory?

A year ago, Rebecca Black’s unforgettable viral tune “Friday” first appeared on YouTube. Since then, the massively autotuned “Friday” music video has reached millions upon millions of eyes, spawned countless parodies and caught the attention of many celebrities.

To honor the jam, which eventually became Know Your Meme‘s top meme of 2011, we’re looking back at the high-profile musicians and famous tech personalities who have supported Black, covered the song or parodied it for its comedic glory (see list below).

Although released on Feb. 10, 2011, “Friday” exploded onto our radars in March as the song started attracting Justin Bieber-esque YouTube fame and much ridicule for its simple lyrics, low-budget music video and apparent autotuned vocals. Dust began to settle on the song as 2011 came to a close. However, in November, it returned for a reprieve in Kohl’s Black Friday ad.

Black acknowledged the 1-year anniversary Friday night in this tweet:

What has been your favorite “Friday” memory — whether that be an experience hearing it offline or a moment discovering a funny online spoof? I remember jamming out to it on a Saturday during a vacation in Phoenix and then again poolside the following day. Whomp.

5 Memorable Celebrity-Infused ‘Friday’ Moments

• 1. Lady Gaga Calls YouTube Star Rebecca Black a Genius: “I say Rebecca Black is a genius and that anybody telling her she’s cheesy is full of sh*t,” said Lady Gaga during the Q&A portion of “Google Goes Gaga” in March. Even after Gaga called then-13-year-old Black a “genius,” the ridicule toward the song still hit a fever pitch, causing Black to leave middle school.
• 2. Conan Takes on Rebecca Black With “Thursday”:
• 3. Startups and VCs Parody Rebecca Black’s “Friday”: Startup founders and employees have just put their spin on the Internet’s biggest hit of 2011. We spotted these startups (let us know if you spy any others): 33Across, AppNexus, Birchbox, Bitcasa, Cabana, FanBridge, Get Satisfaction, GroupMe, Hotel Tonight, Jelli, Kiwi Crate, Mashery, MemSQL, ModCloth, Monetate, Path, RockMelt, SinglePlatform, TaskRabbit, Turntable.fm, Warby Parker and Xobni.
• 4a. Katy Perry Video Features Rebecca Black Cameo:
• 4b. Katy Perry Covers “Friday” in Concert:
• 5. Glee Covers “Friday” on TV: