Julia Michaels is an American singer and songwriter, featured as a mentor on the reality TV singing competition show The Voice. She rose to fame writing pop hits for the likes of Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber before debuting her solo single "Issues" in 2017. This creative lady is adorned with ink, and we're writing up this feature to see what tattoos she has decorated herself with.
Julia, whose real name is Julia Carin Cavazos, worked with the singers on Team Gwen to deliver gold on The Voice's stage. Viewers have taken interest in her tattoos, so we will be looking at how many designs are spread across her body, and what kinds of tattoos she has! She attributes most of her designs to her friend and tattoo artist @londonreese.
Thanks to Inked Mag, we're taking a tour of Julia Michaels' tattoos! She has got heavy sleeves adorning her arms, but we think Julia is focusing more on her right arm. There's a feather tattoo on her upper right bicep, which she got inked in 2012. This one, she says, is a matching tattoo her and three members of her family got. Her lower bicep is adorned with a geometrical piece, a portrait of a faceless lady. This is probably one of Julia's more personalized tattoos. About this tattoo, she says that "It kind of, at the time, was describing my anonymity in the music industry…I’ve always kind of felt like this is who I am on the inside. Everything’s just kind of changed so much this year that I feel like this is me, this is me showing myself, this is me at my most vulnerable." Featured right under her faceless lady is a lotus, a symbol of rebirth. We love the juxtaposition of the two tattoos' meanings. To blossom from anxiety is the greatest feat. The star says that this is probably her least favorite tattoo, and she is looking to cover it up. Whoops! She later got a giant X and the words, "BAD IDEA," tattooed over and around the lotus. We love the bounceback.
Julia has a rose tattoo on her right shoulder, which is placed above an animated typewriter, that has a background of sun and floral designs. In between her rose tattoo and the typewriter tattoo, she has a pink heart, designed to look like a jewel. This heart is not the only gem-looking tattoo on her arm, and if you look close enough, there are about three or four other gems adorning her sleeve. She also has a golden snitch, from the Harry Potter series. Fun fact: she and her father share this tattoo. So, moving down on her right arm, and just above her elbow is a minimally-designed tattoo of two hands holding each other. Right under the crook of her elbow, she has the words, "JUST BREATHE," inked in a more traditional, almost cursive font. Closer to the inside of her right arm and right above her elbow, she has the illustration of a sweater with branches for a head, and hands. The torso has, "FREE HUGS," written across of it. Making up the rest of her right arm sleeve is a slithering snake climbing down the inside of her right arm. On her right forearm is an illustrious, geometrical, anatomical heart. Inked using only the color black, the heart has an eye in the middle of the illustration. In reference to this tattoo Michaels says that she has gotten used to showing only parts of herself, and since her nature is more emotional, she wears her heart on her sleeve.
Right under the heart is a lightbulb, filled in with stars and moons. The concept of this tattoo came to fruition with the help of her tattoo artist @londonreese. She says, "The light bulb, of course, is kind of like the bubble for ideas. And I was like ‘How do we embody the sub-conscious?’ Because a lot of the times when I write, a lot of times I don’t know where it comes from. It’s just like a weird, out of body experience. I will be talking to somebody and then all of a sudden there’s a song. And I can’t really explain it. So I was talking to London, my tattoo artist, and we were like ‘How can we embody that feeling?’ And we came up with the universe in a light bulb." A geometric shape, consisting of three corners of a triangle, and cut-out circles adorn the top of her right arm. The Kanizsa triangle is a symbol of perception and is a gorgeous way to piece the designs together. On the top of her hand is another rose, however, this one is done slightly geometrically. The petals feature a line pattern running through.
On top of the fingers on her right hand, you can see a red heart with a black outline. The top of her middle finger has a bee illustration on it. And at the connection of her thumb and her hand is a tattoo she shares with artist Selena Gomez. The two got these arrow tattoos together after Gomez attended one of Michaels' shows. Selena got the tattoo on her left hand, so when the friends are holding hands, their arrows are pointing towards each other. How sweet! On the back of her right forearm, Michaels tattooed a rose with a microphone emerging from it. On one side of that is a scorpion holding a rose. This design alludes to more of a traditional type of tattoo and uses traditional black ink. That design is an ode to her moon sign, Scorpio. Besides the scorpion is a feather quill. "I love you," is inked on her right palm. She got this tattoo in 2016, as a reminder to exercise self-love. On the opposite palm is the word "more." We are not sure whether this is a stand-alone design or a continuation of the script on her right palm.
Her left arm generally features larger pieces than the ones on her right. On her forearm is the outline of a lady with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. The details of her face are left bare besides a smiley face. Above her elbow and on the outer side of her left bicep is a bird, making a catch. Its wings are illustrated as if the creature is mid-flight.
On her left middle finger is a treble cleft, making her love for music clean and clear. Above her left wrist she has a giant piano done by artist Jim Sylvia. Frank Allen did the tattoo above it, on her left forearm. The design is a giant, outlined peony flower. And FYI, the lady's a trooper, because she got this one and the scorpion tattoo done on the same day. On the outside of her left wrist, she has the words "PROTAGONIST + ANTAGONIST" in gorgeous, flowing script. On her upper, inner left bicep is a traditional, bannered heart. We can't quite make out the words. Further up on her left shoulder is a profile portrait of what looks like a lady floating in the water. There is an unidentifiable quote below her head. Below the quote and sitting on Julia's left bicep is a dazzling blue butterfly. The larger piece is colored in and detailed.
On her throat, she has ink that says "SPEAK UP," something she says is a reminder for her to own, and take up her space. On the left side of her neck, she has the words, "I am _____." Given that her neck, and if we want to get freaky, her throat chakra, seem to be the most important for her work. It is interesting that she has decided to place these self-affirming statements around this area. Drawing downwards from her chest is a straight line. She has, "KISS HERE," tattooed on her upper back, a tattoo she got in 2017, an ode to romance and sensuality.
We have noticed major themes in Julia's style of ink, and what looks she tends to usually go for. We definitely have to agree with her love for florals! And the several creative mediums she has tattooed on her body say a lot about her favorite ways to express herself. She is quoted saying, “All my tattoos deal with connections, intimacy, perception: things I deal with and want to learn more about." Her tattoos are a call for love and creation, and we stan!
Source: Inked Mag, Julia Michaels' Instagram