Beckii Cruel

[willgoestocollege]

There's a documentary about a British 14 year old girl who got famous in Japan from uploading herself dancing on YouTube.

BBC iPlayer - Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14

Watch it if you are interested.

"Documentary telling the story of 14-year-old Rebecca Flint, an ordinary schoolgirl from the Isle of Man who in Japan becomes Beckii Cruel, a teen icon and an internet sensation.

Beckii became famous in Japan after uploading films of herself dancing on YouTube. She did this secretly, without telling her parents. This intimate documentary has exclusive access to her as it explores the real world of Beckii and the other British teenage girls who hope to become famous in Japan.

Beckii's breakthrough posting attracted almost half a million hits and showed her miming an eccentric Japanese dance called danjo. Beckii was then approached by a Japanese music manager who quickly helped her to take Japan by storm. Since August 2009 she has recorded five singles, released her own DVD and appeared on Japan's biggest TV shows. Now she wants success in the UK and there are a lot of businessmen ready to help her crack the teen market.

Despite getting the fame every girl is supposed to dream of, life is not easy for this 14-year-old. Being a child doing a job in a very adult world isn't always fun and games. Balancing two different lives on opposite sides of the world is tricky, and wrestling with the consequences of a mainly male Japanese fan base can be embarrassing, especially if you've never even had a boyfriend.

The film explores the fascinating world of Japanese anime and manga - crazes that grip millions in Japan and tens of thousands here – and shows that other girls see Beckii's success and decide they too might like to be big in Japan. But although getting famous seems as simple as uploading a crazy dance, the implications of being famous at 14 are anything but straightforward."

[ParaPara]

That's hilarious. I think I just listened to her on last.fm.

[willgoestocollege]

I can't wait until her fame dies down.

[edelweiss]

It really creeps me out when I think of all of the things very young teen girls post of themselves on the internet without their parents ever knowing.

[JamboP26]

I seen that. Absolute genius.

[JamboP26]

Originally Posted by edelweiss

It really creeps me out when I think of all of the things very young teen girls post of themselves on the internet without their parents ever knowing.

The documentary showed when she got an e-mail from Japan, saying they wanted to make her famous, she told her parents & they encouraged her.

[MMM]

Dang...can't see it as I am not in the U.K.

[Sashimister]

Originally Posted by willgoestocollege

I can't wait until her fame dies down.

It will very soon, believe me. She can't dance and she can't sing. Once we're tired of looking at her face, she'll be gone. The prettier the face, the quicker we get tired of watching. It's as simple as that. There's a long waiting list of these girls for Japan, so the industry won't invest in Cruel and wait till she develops into real stardom.

I'm like a living witness of these short-lived one-hit-wonders from abroad. Being a star in a far-away country while remaining the girl-next-door type in your own isn't easy. It will wear you down within a few years at the longest.

As far as I know, it all started with Betsy and Chris from America. This song was Number 2 on the annual Japanese chart for 1969. Number 2 in what was already becoming an economic superpower yet no one knew who they were back home. They called it quits at the peak of their "stardom" here.

[Aniki]

God, I hope her 15 minutes of fame will fade out quick, so she could move on with her life.


Is it just me or she really does look like a cheap street hooker with that wig and outfit?

Originally Posted by MMM

Dang...can't see it as I am not in the U.K.

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 1

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 2

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 3

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 4

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 5

Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar at 14 part 6

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by Aniki

God, I hope her 15 minutes of fame will fade out quick, so she could move on with her life.


Is it just me or she really does look like a cheap street hooker with that wig and outfit?

Oh dear sweet jesus. Who put her in that outfit? Do they think THAT'S what appeals to the british public because that's not how she normally dresses up.

As for the "Parents should keep their cameras far from their children, especially from those with no talent. Anyone can "dance" like that but most people are aware of how silly and stupid it is and not show it to others on the net" aspect of it, from my understanding, the whole thing started out by her following an internet trend of girls filming themselves doing Danjo, just for a goofy bit of fun. So she wasn't the first to do it by any means, but for some reason, her video got picked out the hordes and dumped on niconicodougu, and it got popular. And how many people put stupid, poor quality stuff up on youtube all the time? Then for 6 months she secretly followed up with other anime dance videos.

I don't think she'll ever capture a corner of the British market like she has in Japan though, despite her hopes to; her appeal just doesn't hold water over here, and we're much, much more judgmental about singing ability. I think even if she does get a minor hit, it will only open her to an awful lot of ridicule, which is kind of sad for her.