“It’s Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday.” The lyrics to Rebecca Black’s viral 2011 breakout single “Friday” still play in our heads when we reach the celebratory end of the workweek. Fourteen years later, the track still hits, so it’s not surprising that it officially received the brand-partnership treatment this month with Bombay Sapphire’s continuation of its Tastes Like It’s Friday campaign featuring Black and its Sparkling Lemon cocktail. Along with a remixed version of the nostalgic hit, the bright and citrusy drink perfectly encapsulates that carefree weekend feeling the California native sang about all those years ago.
Yes, “Friday” is back in a big way, but so is Black herself thanks to her new EP Salvation. With this release, the artist is her authentic self—uninhibited and finally ready to share all of the versions of herself with pop anthems like the title track “Salvation” and “Sugar Water Cyanide.” It’s Black at her most confident with bold lyrics, striking visualizers, and an equally ornate fashion aesthetic to match. Our weekend playlists just got better.
Congratulations on the release of Salvation! How does this EP reflect who and where you are right now as an artist and personally?
Thank you! Salvation was such a moment of evolution for me creatively. Over these past few years, I’ve really devoted my artistic energy into learning how to become better in tune with my own intuition and how to trust myself more in my own creative process. Each song is really emblematic of that in this way of finally learning to let my guard down in the ways others might view me. I’ve really been wound up quite tight over the years, afraid of making a misstep out of fear of being criticized, but Salvation was all about embracing the fluidity of who I am and all the versions of myself that exist rather than just trying to be perfect in the eyes of pleasing everyone else.
What did you want this project to be for your fans?
This project is a celebration of self. I really found so much confidence in my own voice, and I hope anyone listening can find the same for themselves.
Is there a track on Salvation that really represents this moment for you?
I do think the title track harnesses the ethos of this project, hence why it’s called “Salvation.” But also, “Sugar Water Cyanide” really felt like a moment between me and my audience speaking directly to each other in this way I’ve always wanted to. I knew the second we’d written it that my people would get it. I’m not sure if everyone else around me felt the same, but that was one of those moments of intuition I had to follow.
What would you say is the fashion vibe or aesthetic for this EP?
It’s all about garishness, delusions of grandeur, fur, trashiness, and irony.
You just kicked off the Salvation Tour. What are you most excited to show your fans with this performance?
I’m so excited to bring the world of Salvation to the stage, especially in all of the songs that haven’t yet had visuals, like “American Doll” and “Twist the Knife.” It’s really a theatrical show at its core.
Do you have a favorite tour look?
Brody designed this custom embellished coat for me full of real bedazzled cigarettes, soda cans, spoons, and all other little Salvation world tchotchkes. It’s insanely fab, and Brody has been one of me and my stylist Dot’s favorite designers to work with in this era.
As you continue to evolve and reinvent yourself as an artist, who are some of your biggest musical/pop influences?
I’m always inspired by those who push the boundaries of what’s possible in pop. Gaga, Madonna, Bowie, Prince, Gwen—I always look to them in the ways they have built worlds on sets and stages or even just walking down the street. That is the essence of pop stardom I find most thrilling.
We’re curious about your thoughts on the state of pop right now. It feels like we’re in this really exciting moment where women are embracing their sexuality and celebrating their messiness.
I’m excited to see pop in a glory moment right now, but I’ve always felt that pop was a timeless, genreless entity. It makes sense looking at the state of the world why audiences want to see the artists they love acknowledging the world around them and interacting with a version of authenticity, whether it be deemed as recklessness or rebellion. I’ve always thought pop is its most interesting when it turns itself on its head, and I think that’s what is making all the girls we love in this moment so powerful. They are unafraid and in full control of their POV, and that leads to really good art.
You’ve really seen it all in terms of navigating how tough this industry can be. What have been some of your biggest learnings over this time?
I’m still learning every day, but really, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the importance of intuition and using your voice when your gut tells you so. My only regrets spawn from moments of letting myself believe others knew best. [That’s] not to say I’m not open to feedback or criticism. That’s also incredibly important in the collaborative worlds I live in, but I know when and how to make decisions for myself now. … Even if that leads me toward a mistake, that allows me to learn from it in an entirely new way.
(Image credit: Bombay Sapphire)
“Friday” is the song that launched your pop career in 2011 but was also a source of a lot of criticism and trauma for you. Fourteen years on, what is your current relationship to the single?
I no longer run from what it might have meant for me. It’s never something I’ll act like didn’t exist or make me who I am. But frankly, I feel that way because I also know it will never be the most interesting thing about the art that I make. That’s how confident I am in what I do now and where I’m meant to be.
You are working on a collaboration with Bombay Sapphire where you remixed “Friday” in Miami for its Tastes Like It’s Friday campaign. Can you tell us a little about that project?
Teaming up with Bombay Sapphire for Tastes Like It’s Friday just felt right. The Bombay Sapphire Sparkling Lemon is basically the taste of that first-drink, “weekend’s here” energy, and that’s what this campaign is all about. Why wait for Friday to feel like Friday? The DJ set in Miami was all about celebrating that, bringing the bright, citrusy energy of Sparkling Lemon to life in the best way possible. Even on a Thursday, the Friday vibes were unstoppable. Of course, we had to remix “Friday,” but this time, it’s got a little more sparkle (literally).
