When Willow Smith premiered her new single, “21st Century Girl” on Oprah last week, my immediate thought was that whoever originated the saying, “Children should be seen and not heard,” had gotten it backward.

Like “Whip My Hair,” “21st Century Girl” is another catchy pop ditty. But I like this pair of tunes so much less when I see them “performed” or “acted out” by the preteen progeny of Will and Jada. Willow’s incessant on-camera mugging (particularly when she pulls “fierce” faces) and the fact that I can’t square lyrics like, “Step on the brakes/ I’mma step on the gas,” with the fact that the she’s too young to have a learner’s permit, much less reach the pedals, both drive me batty. Willow’s “living life on the edge”? As much as a 10-year-old can in a mansion high atop the Hollywood Hills, I guess.

Willow is so the Skipper to Rihanna’s Barbie. She wants to be just like her big sis when she grows up right now. But see, wee Willow, there can be only one princess of the Dreamhouse. So when my iPod shuffles over to “Whip My Hair,” or “21st Century Girl” blasts from my Macbook’s speakers, I pretend they’re songs from some lost sequel to Good Girl Gone Bad.

I’m sure Willow won’t mind. Based on “21st Century Girl” video, she prefers a world free of XY chromosomes, anyway. As the T-shirt she dons later in the clip declares, “Boys need training.” (Well, this boy thinks your video could use some editing. That first third draaaaags.)

Purchase Willow Smith – “21st Century Girl” via iTunes.