Music critics were not kind to teenager Rebecca Black last year when the music video for her song "Friday" garnered millions of hits on YouTube: Rolling Stone ridiculed the video's "sub-par production values, grating hooks and extraordinarily stupid lyrics," while a host of others questioned whether the tune was possibly "the worst pop song of all time."
But possibly the harshest criticism Black has received to date may be this week's comparisons to Double Take, a teen pop duo whose music video "Hot Problems" has been viewed more than one million time on YouTube.
In the video, the teens ride around town in the back of a limo while lamenting the trials and tribulations of being too attractive for their own good.
"Hot girls we have problems too," the plaintive duo sings in monotone. "We're just like you. Except we're hot."
So far, the video has received nearly 35,000 "dislikes" on YouTube.
The production company that made the video, Old Baily Productions, was quick to note in the description that they were not responsible for the song, saying "We produced the video as a favor for a younger sibling of one of our friends."
But perhaps the duo should be commended for drawing attention to the devastating condition of hotness, which was highlighted earlier this year in a widely criticized column from the Daily Mail. In the editorial "Why Women Hate Me For Being Beautiful," columnist Samantha Brick explained that her enviable appearance put her at a disadvantage in society because women felt threatened by her, while men viewed her as a sex object.
"While I’m no Elle Macpherson, I’m tall, slim, blonde and, so I’m often told, a good-looking woman," Brick wrote. "I know how lucky I am. But there are downsides to being pretty — the main one being that other women hate me for no other reason than my lovely looks."
While Brick's comments drew criticism from all corners of the Internet, at least one study lends some validity to Brick's claims.
According to a Beauty and the Labor Market study conducted by Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle, good looking people earn about 10 percent more money than their less attractive coworkers and are more likely to be promoted. And about 7 out of 10 hiring managers say that beauty is an asset to female employees on the job, according to Forbes' report on the study.
But researchers interviewed by Forbes said that, in a workplace climate where good looks are increasingly important, women who use beauty to their advantage -- as well as women who don't -- may face difficulty later in their careers.
"The first wave of Millennial women who have leveraged their looks to climb the corporate ladder are beginning to see signs of aging and grappling with how this change may impact their careers," Larissa Faw wrote for Forbes.
Head over to Forbes for Faw's full story, "The Complexities When Women Use Beauty As A Career Tactic."