With the overnight success of Patrice Wilson finally has his follow-up to the Internet-obliterating, backlash-inducing smash he co-wrote for Rebecca Black back in 2011.
Of course, it’s not like he hasn’t been busy trying to duplicate “Friday’s” viral spread from the moment the clip first hit YouTube: That same year, he founded Pato World Music, a “music production company and a platform for undiscovered talent to get the recognition they deserve,” and, in the time since, the company has released a spate music videos starring squeaky-clean tweens belting out bizarrely similar songs … the overwhelming majority of which Wilson wrote and produced.
On Thursday, MTV News spoke with Wilson about the runaway success of “Chinese Food” — it’s racked up more han 5 million views on YouTube in just 48 hours — and though claims he wrote the song in just 30 minutes, we suspect he’s being modest. After all, the track is unquestionably his biggest hit since “Friday” (the closest he came to matching it was Nicole Westbrook’s “Thanksgiving”, which topped out at 14 million views). But it turns out, scoring another hit is a lot tougher than you’d imagine … after all, not every delusional pre-teen with wealthy parents is destined for superstardom.
So here’s a look at some of Wilson’s near-misses, those wide-eyed wannabes who put their faith in his hitmaking abilities, only to end up getting eclipsed by a song that rhymes “broccoli” with “Monopoly.” Hey, it’s never too early to learn that life is unfair.
Drew Jacobs, “My Team”
He seems like a nice kid — sort of like Justin Bieber’s cousin who’s really good at math — unfortunately for Drew, “nice kids” generally don’t make for good pop stars (ask Miley). Since being released in November 2012, the “My Team” video has only been viewed 160,000 times, though we do give him credit for trying to convince us he can actually skateboard.
Lexi Sullivan, “Hot Stuff”
Production-wise, it sounds like Wilson’s attempt at copying Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” (only four years late!) and though Sullivan makes every attempt to sass her way through the song — “Please, whatever!” — viewers clearly weren’t interested. Since being uploaded in January 2012, “Hot Stuff” has only been watched 186,000 times … which is better than the artist Wilson teases at the end of the video, Baylee Valentine, whose track “I Need a Hero” has amassed less than 10,000 views to date.
Asterino Sisters, “Quit Playing Games”
Give credit where credit’s due: the Asterino Sisters (Sydney, Paris, London and Brooklyn … we sense a theme here!) can actually sing, as evidenced by the harmonies in their cover of this Backstreet Boys’ classic. Unfortunately, not many people seemed to listen; their video’s got only 55,000 views. Also, we’re willing to bet that the dude who cameos as “the Producer” is their dad. Hey, he had to get something for his money.
Teona Dolnikova, “Shocked”
She is older than 18. Your argument is invalid.
Patrice Wilson, “Happy”
Sure, you could call this a rather inspired bit of meta comedy, in which Patrice pokes fun his persona and the hatred he inspires, though it’s just as easy to classify it as his cloying, downright desperate attempt to wring every last drop of notoriety out of “Friday.” Either way, you’d be right.
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