So who is this Rebecca Black girl?  She’s 13…. she just signed a huge recording deal yesterday… so what gives?  I’ve heard nothing but awful things about her… I don’t get it!

It all started with the viral video for ‘Friday‘ and the rest is currently becoming history.  Here is a bit on the youngin’ that has turned into a rising star overnight…. literally.

1. She’s into musical theater
Sure, she’s got that pop song and all, but Black (who’s taken four years of voice lessons and hopes to land a record deal) is also taking center stage at her middle school. “I got the lead this year for Oklahoma!” the eighth-grader tells PEOPLE. “I’ve always been in our school’s shows, ever since first grade.”

2. Her bedroom is Bieber-ed out
“I am so dorky when it comes to Justin Bieber,” she admits. “I have a little mini shrine in my room.” Should the Biebs (who has Tweeted about “Friday”) invite her to collaborate, “I would scream at the top of my lungs and possibly not be able to sing again,” she says with a laugh.

3. She’s s-m-a-r-t
In addition to singing, “She’s also an honors student,” says Black’s mother, Georgina Kelly, who admits that her daughter’s vocabulary has left her searching for a dictionary. “She’s won spelling bees … she’s a smart cookie.”

4. She digs Selena Gomez
“I totally admire her,” says Black. “I think it’s awesome that she hasn’t taken that downward spiral that other child stars have taken. And I really love Katy Perry, too.”

5. Those are her real friends in the video
When Ark Music Factory set up the video shoot for “Friday,” they gave Black the option of including her friends, and she agreed. So now, a whole pack of kids from southern California are famous along with her. Not that any of them expected to be. “Last Christmas there was a group of people whose [YouTube] video hit 100,000 views, and I thought, ‘Wow, how incredible is that?’ ” recalls Kelly. “It made the news!” Of course, her own daughter has now surpassed that mark – 470 times over. “This,” adds Black, “is the last thing I thought would happen.”

Watch, then judge:

Photo: Alison Dyer