Over the span of his almost 15-year career, Justin Bieber has gone through monumental change – both physically and emotionally. From the happy floppy-haired, purple hoodie-clad young boy in ‘Baby’ to the mature, tattoo-covered, ripped man that he is now: Beliebers have been through it all with him. However, the one thing that may be hard to imagine is Justin Beiber sans his over 40 tattoos. Nevertheless, it looks like fans wouldn’t have to wonder what he would look like without them as, over the weekend (to commemorate the new year), the 26-year-old Canadian released a new music video for his single ‘Anyone’. In it, a shocking new look for the singer: clear, tattoo-less skin.
That’s right – nary a cross, lion, rose, angel, roman numeral or any bit of ink in sight. It’s an odd look for the singer – not because it’s a good or bad choice, but simply because it’s unexpected. Fans have been divided over the new (temporary) look –
I couldn’t imagine JB without all his tattoos.. until now..
— Amira Buch (@AmiraBuch) January 3, 2021
justin isn’t justin without tattoos
— em ? (@bieberrchxnges) January 3, 2021
Justin Bieber without tattoos shocked me
— Σελήνη⁷ (@niallarflicker) January 3, 2021
his tattoos have flavor..
— lakedra ? (@angelofpov) January 3, 2021
But there’s a good reason for the look. The video for ‘Anyone’ was inspired by the wildly popular ‘Rocky’ franchise (written by and starring Sylvester Stallone). In it, ‘Rocky’ is tattoo-less as he goes from an uneducated, kind-hearted working class debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia to the world heavyweight champion. In a similar vein, Bieber is seen training to be a boxer, defeating opponents until he has his shot at the title and sharing loving moments with his onscreen costar Zoey Dutch.
And for those asking…
what kind of superpower-makeup did they use to even cover the tattoos?
— alina ? (@tasedrew) January 3, 2021
Bieber himself gave insight into the process by posting a 60-second video of the painless (but long and meticulous) work that went into the coverup.
In the time-lapse, multiple make-up artists are shown covering up the many, many, many tattoos that Bieber has covering his arms, legs, torso and any other areas that appear under the boxing shorts he has on in the video. Although it isn’t known exactly how long it took for the pain-staking process to be completed, it couldn’t have been an easy job. But – it was definitely worth it; especially considering why Beiber wanted to drop the video at the exact time that he did:
“Music has gotten us all through so much this year, and for me personally it’s been healing and transformative. ‘Anyone’ is such a special, hopeful, anthemic song. It sets the tone for a brighter new year full of hope and possibility.”
*Cover image credits: Instagram / @justinbieber