According to Twitter, its trending topics algorithm identifies topics that are immediately popular to help people discover the "most breaking" news stories worldwide.
In the past three days, Black's single Friday - which includes the banal lyrics "yesterday was Thursday, Thursday/Today is Friday, Friday" and "tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards" - has quadrupled its hits on YouTube, racking up more than 8 million hits - with that figure growing hourly.
But, already, online critics are dubbing it the world's worst song. Released by independent LA record label ARK Music Factory, the single is heavily produced and the teenager's vocals have been auto-tuned to the max, giving the T-Pain and Cher's Life After Love a solid run for their money.
The lyrics are overly simple and repetitive ("Friday, Friday, Friday"), the beat is monotonous and the inclusion of an unknown rapper obviously to give the track a shot of street cred only adds to the cringe factor.
@Page_kun wrote: "ok, just listened/watched rebecca blacks friday. WTF IS THIS SHIT ? SOMEONE GIVE ME MY TIME BACK D8"
@matthewwillkins tweeted: "Rebecca Black blatantly is a jewish princess that got daddy to pay for a recordings and an average expensive video. She has no real talent."
@Itsssdani wrote: "rebecca black: thank you, you have ruined the word 'Friday' permanently for me for the rest of my life."
@Daggers Chelsea wasn't impressed by Black's apparent lack of creativity: "I find it quite frustrating that a mentally challenged girl like Rebecca Black is more popular on Twitter than Eric Abidal who has cancer."
@rawr_biteme was worried about the moral/ legal implications of Black's lyrics: "Rebecca Black is 13-years-old? She should be doing her homework and watching cartoons, not "getting down" because that's illegal."
For her part, Black has remained silent in the wake of the criticism, no doubt watching the hit counter on her YouTube channel climb ever higher. Her record company will also be rubbing their hands together, probably repeating the mantra " any press is good press".
Is Rebecca Black's Friday really the worst song ever? Why are underage kids riding in a convertible? Where are the seat belts? And why is a considerably older male rapping about the excitement he feels when he cruises past a school bus?
