If we’re on the topic of discussing celebrity’s tattoos, Justin Bieber wouldn’t be far off in the topic. He’s not only known for his music, but for his tattoo passion aswell.
Justin has quite a lot, so we tried to go over the most significant ones as a lot of them speak for themselves.
Table of Contents
It's all about family
From the very beginning of his tattoo journey, Justin Bieber made it all about his family… with a seagull.
A seagull?
On his left hip, Justin got an outline of a seagull. Why?
Well, it was based on the book ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ by Richard Bach. Everyone in his family had read it and gotten the same tattoo on their wrists.
”Basically, it’s about a seagull that wanted to be more than a seagull.” – Justin told GQ
This was his very first tattoo at the age of 16!
Momma's boy
In the crease of his left elbow, Justin got the eye of his mom tattooed in the realistic tattoo style. That’s not where it ends though!
He also got his mom’s birthyear underneath his right collarbone! That’s what the Roman numerals ”I IX VII V” stand for.
Can’t say we don’t admire the love he has for his mom!
Pssst… click here to learn about Angelina Jolie’s Roman numerals tattoo!
Testimony to his late grandpa
Ever heard of the Stratford Culliotons? It’s a hockey team Justin Bieber used to go watch together with his grandpa.
Justin got the logo’s indian head on his left shoulder blade to commemorate his late grandfather and for him, it’s a super meaningful tattoo. We can imagine why!
Stay strong little Georgia
When Justin Bieber found out the daughter of one of his dear friends, Chad Veach, and his wife Julia Veach was diagnosed with a rare brain disformation disorder, he wanted to show support.
”I got that for him, just to support him, let him know I got his back.” – Bieber in the GQ interview
The disorder is called lissencephaly and it affects developing fetuses. Most kids with this disorder unfortunately die before the age of 10.
So, he got the letter ‘G’ for Georgia on his right innerarm near his elbow. Both Justin bieber and his wife Hailey Baldwin (now Bieber) got this. Some have even speculated Selena Gomez got this tattoo aswell.
Now that we’ve mentioned his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez
Whether you’re a Jelena fan or not, it’s a fact that they’re over. So, keep it calm Selenators!
However, Justin got a portrait of his (now) ex Selena Gomez on the bottom of his left arm. He shared with GQ, that he has tried to cover up her face a bit with shading.
When life gives you lemons, you try to make lemonade… I guess?
The fans wont let him forget that though! We’re wondering if he’ll ever laser this one off or cover it completely.
Okay, maybe it's not ALL about family, but religion aswell
It’s not a secret Justin Bieber is a religious man. I mean, his 4th album is called ‘Believe’ and his fans are called the Beliebers. If that didn’t give it away, maybe his tattoos will!
Ode to Jesus Christ and his religion
Justin’s second tattoo was that of Jesus’ portrait on his left calf at the age of 17.
Moving onto the outerside of his leg, he got a praying hands tattoo he later decorated with a large rose motif underneath it. That is one rose tattoo of a few more.
The family theme returns
On the left side of his ribcage, Justin Bieber got a matching tattoo with his dad. It reads ‘Yeshua’ in the hebrew language, which also means ‘Jesus’.
Wanna read about another celebrity with religious tattoos? CLICK MEEE!!!
Fight between light and darkness
Well it’s already obvious Justin has a certain theme going on, so why not take it to the next level? Justin had the honor to get his whole torso/stomach covered with ink by the tattoo artist Bang Bang.
The scene? It’s two angels, one on each side, fighting the ‘evil’ that’s placed underneath them. We can’t personally see them but there are supposed to be demons underneath each one. There is however a skeleton below the (our) left and a serpent below the right one. Perhaps this is what Keith was referring to as the demons?
Bang Bang said he envisioned a tattoo describing Bieber’s spirituality and including his spirit animals, so perhaps a serpent is Justin’s spirit animal?
Bang Bang also mentioned he always tries to incorporate contrast. Not only visual light and darkness, but in the subject matter as well and therefore it’s symbolic for Gothic art.
Justin Bieber loves his tattoo!
On his instagram, Justin posted his new ink with a caption saying that despite the pain it takes to get all that artwork on your body, it’s ‘so much fun’ to be a canvas. We can only say, we agree!
The angel wings
Back in 2016 Bieber got some ‘new’ ink, angel wings on the back of his neck. Despite the process being ”mad uncomfy” because of the position he had to be in for 3.5 hours, it was his favorite tattoo. At the time at least.
Three and a half hours in a bent over position? My neck could never. What a champ.
Debunking the Chi tattoo
Returning to his left arm Justin has got an “X” a.k.a the Chi symbol. There’s a lot of articles out there that claim it’s connected to his religion but we’re here to debunk that one.
The unknown
In the GQ interview, Justin Bieber mentioned he got it as a representation for the unknown. He further explained it stands for people not knowing who he really is. They might know the artist and the side he shows to the world, but that does not mean they really know who Justin Bieber is. As with 99% of celebrities.
And if you know anything about symbols, you know people are probably thinking of the christogram ‘Chi Rho’ that looks like an X with a P on it.
Worthy mentions
Small cross next to Justin’s eye
Bigger cross tattoo centered on his chest
Fineline ‘Grace’ above his eyebrow done by tattoo artist JonBoy
A quote across his right shoulder blade from Psalm 119:105 ”Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”
“Son of God” across his torso
The globe on a crucifying cross, left wrift
Love for music
He has not only shown his love for family and religion with his body art, but for music aswell.
Behind his (we think) left ear, he’s got a musical symbol, the Treble clef. One of his first tattoos however was that of a Japanese kanji character, which reads ‘music’. This tattoo is barely visible by now, but it’s still there!
To celebrate his, at the time, new album Justin got its title ‘Believe‘ on his left arm. He did so again with ‘Purpose‘, above his belly button.
Did you know the majority of Katy Perry’s tattoos are career-related?
There’s also a small crown symbol positioned below his left collarbone. Some say that’s a tribute to Michael Jackson but there’s no confirmation so far.
Some essence x some sillyness
To be completely honest, not all of Bieber’s tattoos make sense to us. Some have a really deep meaning and others seem silly to us,… but as long as they make sense to him, right? Either way, we’ve summed these up for you aswell.
There’s a bear tattoo which represents ‘rest‘ next to the lion, which represents him having the heart of a lion. Both of these are on his chest and also done by the tattoo artist Bang Bang.
Back in 2020 he went ahead and got tattooed by another celebrity tattoo artist, Dr. Woo. Having tattooed a bunch of other musical idols, there’s no doubt it was an honor for both of them. The new rose tattoo on his neck was now a fact and it’s meant to show that even though he isn’t perfect (I mean, who is?), ‘beauty shines even through our rough edges’.
Bieber didn’t hesitate to show his appreciation for art even more by getting a tribute to Banksy. He got his super mario brothers ‘Balloon girl’ with an eight ball next to it.
A large piece of his right forearm is covered with fish scales.
If we move upwards, the outerside of his right upper arm is mostly covered with an angel holding a clock – aaaand if we come back down to earth we get more goofiness.
Spotted on his right forearm again, there is a diamond, a cartoony fish with a hand that’s throwing us the peace sign and a grafitti star.
When we flip his arm over to see the innerside, the arm sleeve ‘theme’ continues. We’ve got Jester a.k.a the fool, which in tarot represnts new beginnings and not caring about possible risks. Just going for it! Considering the significance behind some of his other tattoos we’re guessing that’s what that is.
Above it, a boombox and underneath it, the singer got himself a laughing Korean mask.
That’s all folks! Did you guys get any inspiration from his ever growing collection? Or did you get a sense of banality? Personally, we (read: I, the writer) think there’s definitely an epic piece that stood out. It’s not the tiny cross, though, i’ll tell you that.
As far as we know, he’s got none on his right leg. We’re assuming it’s only a matter of time before the tattoo game is on again for him. Surely we’ll catch Bieber rocking a brand new tattoo anytime soon, he’s got a whole limb to cover!
