Justin Bieber has debuted a new retro punk look, a la ’80s rocker Billy Idol, with spiked hair, vest over a long-sleeve tee-shirt, heavy boots and one weird looking glove.
Bieber, 17, has only been famous for a few years. Before his career skyrocketed he was grinding out YouTube videos from his bedroom in his home outside Ontario, Canada.
His debut single, “One Time,” was released in 2009 and charted in the top thirty in several countries.
By then, he already had a substantial following on YouTube and Twitter.
His debut album, My World, was released Nov. 17, 2009, and quickly shot to platinum in the United States with more than a million copies sold.
Check out Justin’s photos; click to enlarge..
Early on, he was criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age. He had a boyish face and a mop-top haircut that wrapped around his forehead like a helmet.
He chopped off his locks in 2010. Next to Elvis Presley’s buzz cut when he was drafted into the army, it’s one of the most widely covered haircuts in music history.
Justin went with a shorter spikier cut that made him look more mature. But in the latest photos he posted of himself, his hair is shorter yet and spiked up.
With an industrial looking loft for background, he looks more urban in camouflage pants, heavy, unlaced boots, and a predominant chain.
The look is reminiscent of London singer Billy Idol, who became an MTV regular in 1982 with such songs as “White Wedding” and “Dancing with Myself.”
His glove on one hand (shades of Michael Jackson!) looks high-tech and cybernetic like a superheroes’.
It’s hard to say what gives, but Billy Idol would be proud.
Check out his photos, and tell us what you think. Pretty ridiculous, or pretty cool?