Live Report: Rebecca Black – HERE At Outernet – clashmusic.com

Rebecca Black was only 13 when she uploaded the music video to her infamous debut single ‘Friday’ onto YouTube on the 10th of February, 2011. Unbeknownst to her, it would go on to become the most hated song on the internet. The video went completely viral, gaining upwards of 160 million views, 3.2 million dislikes and a relentless barrage of brutal comments from hundreds of thousands of users all over the world, all within the first year of release. 736 Fridays later, on March 20th, 2025, the Californian queer icon takes to the stage in London in front of 1500 ecstatic supporters, performing a triumphant sell-out show at HERE at Outernet.
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‘Friday’ came about after Black’s mother paid a company called ARK Music Factory $4000 to create a song and music video starring her daughter. While it’s not beyond the realms of comprehension to understand why the song might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it’s almost impossible to imagine the kind of impact that an experience like that would have had on someone at such a vulnerable age. Released earlier this month, the Netflix series Adolescence has sparked a nationwide discussion about the negative and potentially harmful effects that social media, cyberbullying and online echo chambers can have on the mental wellbeing of young people. In 2011, however, this was all still a relatively novel concept. Social media and YouTube were still in their infancy, and with Justin Bieber’s rise to fame a few years prior came the deeply uncomfortable trend of expressing mass hatred towards teenage pop stars online.
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In London, most of Black’s fans are people in their mid to late 20s, and would have been around the same age as Black when they first stumbled across ‘Friday’. Most of them admit to having initially been, to an extent, a part of the bandwagon. One says “When I first heard it, I was obviously laughing at it like everyone else was, but now you look back and it’s like… she was literally a child. Imagine having the whole internet hating you at that age!” This sentiment is echoed throughout much of the audience; a slight feeling of guilt, perhaps, for failing to empathise with her at an earlier stage. Mainly though, the atmosphere is one of celebration. This is Black’s biggest show to date, and given the unconventional nature of her rise to fame, there’s an overwhelming feeling among her fans that the moment she’s having now is not only something she deserves, but something that 13 year-old Rebecca could only have dreamed of. She’s since released two records, with her 2023 debut LP ‘Let Her Burn’ proving that she was an artist worth taking seriously. This was followed at the end of last month by ‘Salvation’, an outlandish leap of faith which was met by much critical acclaim.
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In 2020, Black came out as queer and has since become an increasingly prominent voice within the LGBTQ+ alternative pop sphere, having collaborated with some of the genre’s trailblazers including Dorian Electra and Slayyyter. “The gay community is my salvation!” She shouts exuberantly as the crowd roars back in support. The show is separated into three acts, each of which is marked by a bold outfit change and a humorous introductory video. Black kicks off the gig by reclaiming her viral hit. A hyperpop remix of ‘Friday’, produced by Dylan Brady of 100 gecs, booms from the venue’s immersive soundsystem. She’s joined on stage by two male dancers who make quite the entrance as they immediately embrace in a passionate kiss before launching into an irreverent and highly experimental routine.
Throughout the performance, the singer repeatedly expresses her admiration for the English capital, calling it her “favourite city in the world”. Having previously sold out venues such as Colours in Hoxton and Heaven in Charing Cross, London audiences have consistently shown up for Black since she began touring internationally. During the performance, tributes are paid to SOPHIE, the late DJ, producer and songwriter who pioneered the hyperpop genre in the early 2010s.
At one point, Black invites a fan onstage before performing her new album’s lead single ‘Sugar Water Cyanide’. She instructs them to drink a vial of an unidentified liquid and then dramatically act out their death. This kind of tongue and cheek humour remains a constant throughout the whole performance, as a video is displayed on the screen in the background containing a screen recording of the “pride collection” on Target’s online store, which mainly consists of stuffed animals adorned in rainbow flags.
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As a final encore, Black covers Katy Perry’s ‘Ur So Gay’, the lyrics to which are displayed on the screen and stylized in the format of an early 2000s Karaoke video. Naturally, the crowd understands the assignment as they sing along proudly. Black starred in the music video to Perry’s 2011 hit ‘Last Friday Night’ (for obvious reasons) and was brought out as a special guest in multiple cities throughout the Teenage Dream tour. It’s only fitting then, that in a true full-circle moment, Black will be joining Perry as the main supporting act on the ‘Lifetimes’ tour later on in the year.
Concluding the show on a high, and proving herself as a natural born entertainer with the ability to fill a room across the pond, we’re left asking a question we never thought we would be in 2025: What’s next for Rebecca Black?
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‘Salvation’ is out now.
Words: Finlay Harrison
Photography: Elizabeth Lenthall
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