Willow Smith’s Whip My Hair is an internet hit

Predictions that Willow Smith, the nine-year-old daughter of rapper/actor Will Smith, was set for global superstardom appear correct after the video for her debut single became an internet sensation within hours of its release on Monday.

Although the song, Whip My Hair, does not come out for a week the video went viral as soon as it was uploaded on her website and has been watched more than a million times since then.

Such was the anticipation surrounding the premiere that Roc Nation, the management company run by Jay-Z to which she is signed, spent most of Monday taking down illegal versions of the video before its official debut on the cable network Black Entertainment Television.

The hype surrounding Willow Smith in America is at fever pitch after a month of radio play, and millions of YouTube listens - a "teaser" video with still shots of the nine-year-old has had almost 1.5m hits. Celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian have also been taking to Twitter to praise the youngster.

In the clip, Willow, the daughter of Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett, sports a mohawk haircut with dreadlocks on top. She dips the dreads into a pot of paint before before swinging her hair around and spraying the room different colours.

But it is not just Willow who is having success with the song. A video remix featuring an African-American muppet from Sesame Street (above) has also proved popular on YouTube. ·