Julia Carin Cavazos, professionally known as Julia Michaels, is an American singer and songwriter, who initially started her career as a pop music songwriter. She wrote songs for many famous celebrities like Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Justine Bieber and many more but later she released her debut solo single ‘Issues’ in 2017, which gained a lot of popularity. Being very stylish, she got inked a number of different tattoos on her body which have been liked by her fans a lot, each representing different meanings. Let us read further to know more about her tattoos and their meanings.
1. ‘KISS HERE’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘KISS HERE’ Tattoo on her upper back.
Meaning: In 2017, Julia got this tattoo inked from a very famous tattoo artist, London Reese. According to her, co-creating a design with the tattoo artist is exactly similar to writing songs as a part of a team. She said,
“You’re trusting somebody to put something so permanent on your body, and with songwriting, it’s the same. You’re having somebody come in, and you have to trust this person completely to help you articulate words into a song. And then there’s a trust there. Because of that, you become really close friends with them. Like London, who does a lot of my tattoos.”
2. ‘Feather’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Feather’ Tattoo on her right bicep.
Meaning: In 2012, Julia Michaels got this matching tattoo with the three members of her family. She said,
“birds of a feather stick together.”
3. ‘I love you’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘I love you’ Tattoo on her right palm.
Meaning: On December 20, 2016, Julia got the words ‘I love you’ in her own handwriting, inked on her right palm. She got this tattoo inked to remind herself of the self-love. She said,
“I have a lot of little reminders on my body because I don’t tell myself that I love myself. And sometimes I forget, too. So I have this a just a ‘hey, I love you, everything is ok today,’ basically.”
She further said,
“It says ‘I love you’ but it was very ironic because it was very painful, I wouldn’t wish this kind of pain on anybody. Don’t do it!”
She uploaded a picture on her social media account with a caption,
“It’s a reminder to never forget to love myself. Thankyou @londonreese for my new little piece of art. I love it so much. #iloveyou #tattoo”
4. ‘Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Rose’ Tattoo on her right shoulder.
Meaning: On January 30, 2014, Julia Michaels got a purple-colored rose tattoo on her right shoulder. Rose tattoo generally represents love, passion, new beginnings, emotions, and many more.
5. ‘Holding Hands’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Holding Hands’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: On May 28, 2017, Julia had got a ‘holding hands’ tattoo on her right arm by a very famous tattoo artist, London Reese, at The Black Lantern Tattoo Studio. Such tattoos denote love, passion, loyalty, and interpersonal relationships.
6. ‘Anatomical Heart’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Anatomical Heart’ on her right forearm.
Meaning: On November 3, 2016, Julia got this very beautiful anatomical heart with a crying eye in center tattoo inked by an amazing artist, London Reese. Most of Julia’s tattoos are inked by him. According to her, a crying eye in the center of the tattoo represents her state of vulnerability to emotional breakdowns. She said,
“As cliche as it sounds, it’s because I wear my heart on my sleeve. And we put the eye in there because it’s my way of showing myself a little bit. And showing that I’m slowly coming out of hiding. Because I do, I hide, and I’ve gotten so content with hiding over the years.”
7. ‘Light Bulb’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Light Bulb’ Tattoo on her right forearm.
Meaning: Julia with the help her tattoo artist London Reese, inked a beautiful light bulb consisting of stars and moon inside it, on her right forearm. This beautiful art represents the sub-conscious mind of a person. In an interview, she said,
“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.”
8. ‘Speak Up’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Speak Up’ Tattoo on her throat.
Meaning: On May 28, 2017, Julia got this tattoo inked on her throat to boost up her confidence. She said,
“I think the [tattoo] that probably best represents me is the ‘Speak Up’. And I think now more than ever I have the opportunity to have an opinion, and to have a voice, and that I should speak up.”
In an interview, she further said,
“I have a tendency to make myself feel really small in vulnerable times. And I just have to remind myself that I’m not. And to say what’s on my mind and know that people are not going to judge me for it. And I’ll feel stronger because of it.”
9. ‘Microphone with a Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Microphone with a Rose’ Tattoo on her right forearm.
Meaning: Julia Michaels got this tattoo inked on January 17, 2012, on her right forearm. This tattoo has a beautiful red-colored rose with a microphone emerging out of it.
10. ‘Just Breathe’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Just Breathe’ Tattoo her right forearm.
Meaning: Julia got ‘Just Breathe’ tattoo inked on her right forearm in 2012.
11. ‘Snake’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Snake’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: In July 2018, Julia got a pink shade tattoo inked on her right arm and wrote,
“a baby pink snake for this Slytherin.”
Julia Michaels is a great fan of the Harry Potter series and considers herself as Slytherin, so this tattoo is inspired by this.
12. ‘Scorpion with a Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Scorpion with a Rose’ Tattoo on her right wrist.
Meaning: The tattoo artist, Frank Allen, in February 2018, got this tattoo inked on Julia’s right wrist, as she is born under the Zodiac sign Scorpio.
13. ‘Piano’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Piano’ Tattoo on her left forearm.
Meaning: Being a musician, Julia in May 2012, got inked a beautiful piano with a very beautiful design on her left forearm. This tattoo is inked by the tattoo artist, Jim Sylvia. She thanked Jim by uploading a picture on her official media profile with a caption,
“Yay!! All finished!! Thankyou @JimSylviaTattoo for being so incredible!!:)”
14. ‘Peony Flower’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Peony Flower’ Tattoo on her left forearm.
Meaning: Julia in February 2018, specially visited General Electric Tattoo in Van Nuys, CA, to get a peony flower inked by the tattoo artist, Frank Allen. Not only this, but she got her scorpion tattoo also inked by him on the same date.
15. ‘Golden Snitch’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Golden Snitch’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: On December 28, 2017, she got a golden snitch, inspired by the Harry Potter series inked on her right arm. She was on holidays with her family, and during that time she along with her father got this matching tattoo of a golden snitch inked on her forearm. Her father’s tattoo is on the inner side of his forearm, while her tattoo is on the upper portion of her right arm. Before this tattoo, her father was a little scared about the idea of getting inked but decided to go for a matching tattoo with her daughter. On this tattoo, Julia made a statement and said,
“The first tattoo that I ever got was this microphone when I was 18. My dad used to be very conservative. And when I told him I wanted to get a tattoo he [said], “I don’t know, how I feel about that” but I [said] “you should come with me.” And when he came with me, he was so in love with the process that now he wants to get one with me.”
After getting inked, she uploaded a picture with her father with a caption,
“So me and my dad got TOTALLY matching tattoos yesterday.”
16. ‘Typewriter’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Typewriter’ Tattoo on her right forearm.
Meaning: On March 20, 2014, Julia got a vintage typewriter with beautiful red and yellow flowers inked on her right forearm by the tattoo artist, Jim Sylvia. Since Julia is a songwriter, so this typewriter may represent her love towards her music career.
17. ‘Feather Quill Pen’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Feather Quill Pen’ Tattoo on her right forearm.
Meaning: Julia Michaels, on August 11, 2014, got this beautiful feather quill pen tattoo inked on her right forearm, by the tattoo artist, Jim Sylvia.
18. ‘Bee’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Bee Tattoo’ on the middle finger of her right hand.
Meaning: Julia got a bee tattoo inked on the knuckle of the middle finger of her right hand by the tattoo artist, London Reese.
19. ‘Heart’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Heart’ Tattoo on the ring finger of her right hand.
Meaning: A very small red-colored heart, with the black outline, is inked on the knuckle of the ring finger of her right hand.
20. ‘Treble Clef’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Treble Clef’ Tattoo on the middle finger of her left hand.
Meaning: Being a musician, Julia got inked a ‘treble clef’ tattoo on the knuckle of the middle finger of her left hand. This shows her passion for music.
21. ‘Smiley Face’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Smiley Face’ Tattoo on left forearm.
Meaning: In December 2017, Julia got this smiley face tattoo inked on her left forearm. This tattoo is a very simple one, with a face of a cartoonish woman with hairs tied in the form of a bun. Julia never gave any reason for getting this cartoonish tattoo inked on her body.
22. ‘I am ______ .’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘I am _____ .’ Tattoo on the left side of her neck.
Meaning: This tattoo represents her transformation from being an offscreen songwriter to an incredible stage performer. She said,
“I feel the most like myself that I ever have, now…I feel like every day I’m getting more and more comfortable in my skin and comfortable as an artist.”
23. ‘Protagonist + Antagonist’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Protagonist + Antagonist’ Tattoo on her left forearm.
Meaning: On November 21, 2017, Julia got this tattoo inked on her left forearm. She got it tattooed live on-air as the Radio host JoJo Wright arranged a date with her, for the purpose of getting her tattooed live. The tattoo artist Mikey Montoya was called on the sets of 102.7 KIIS FM Los Angeles studios to tattoo him and Julia. So, Julia tattooed Protagonist + Antagonist on her left forearm, representing both sides of her personality. She said,
“this tattoo is basically me just embracing both sides of my personality.”
The protagonist represents the leading character or one of the major characters in a film, novel, play, etc. while an antagonist means a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something.
24. ‘FREE HUGS Branch’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘FREE HUGS Branch’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: A sweater with hands and no head, but branches emerging out of it is inked on her right arm. This tattoo is inspired by the design being uploaded by Geffen Refaeli for her dailydoodlegram Instagram page. Julia got this inked with a text over it, specifying the words, ‘FREE HUGS’. She said,
“All my tattoos deal with connections, intimacy, perception: things I deal with and want to learn more about.”
25. ‘Kanizsa Triangle’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Kanizsa Triangle’ Tattoo on her right forearm.
Meaning: A very unique geometric design with a semi-formed triangle and three circles is inked by the tattoo artist London Reese on her right forearm. London not only inked this tattoo but many others on her body. According to her,
“People like to make fun of me for it because they’re like ‘oh Pac Man!’ But this actually a symbol for perception. It has two triangles and three circles, but nothing is actually formed. Even though the brain perceives it as a whole, and it’s not, which I think is really interesting how you can perceive something as a whole even when it’s not.”
she uploaded a picture of her tattoo on Instagram with the caption,
“London! you never cease to amaze me. These came out better than any expectation I could ever had. Thank you so much for my beautiful art pieces. Love ya Kosh! #londonreese #tattoo”
26. ‘Geometric Design Rose’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Geometric Design Rose’ Tattoo on her right hand.
Meaning: Julia is very fond of geometric designs, which is quite evident from her tattoos. She got inked a geometric design rose tattoo on her right hand on October 15, 2015. Again this tattoo is inked by one of her favorites tattoo artists, Jim Sylvia. Jim uploaded a picture of Julia’s hand on his profile with a caption,
“Rose with geometric pattern. This was fun. I’d love to more things like this. Thank you, Julia. #tatsoul #inkeeze #stencilstuff #juliamichaels.”
27. ‘Geometric Design Portrait’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Geometric Design Portrait’ on her right arm.
Meaning: Again Julia got inked a geometric pattern tattoo on her body. This time she got a portrait of a lady, with geometric pattern face and a purple rose over its head. This tattoo was inked by Jim Sylvia in 2016. She said,
“I have this faceless woman here. 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.”
This tattoo is being related to her anxiety which she used to have before becoming a stage performer. Her life completely changed after her debut song, ‘Issues’ in 2017. She said,
“I’m a very nervous person, and I’ve never been much of a confident person. I think it took a song like ‘Issues’ for me to realize that [being a singer] was something that I wanted, and something that I’ve suppressed because I’m so fearful of it.”
Showing off her face in public was not an easy task for her, however, she managed to overcome her fear. She further said,
” I was scared of not hiding anymore. I was scared of reaching a level of potential I had never reached. When I see people sing ‘Issues’ with me, it’s the most incredible feeling in the world…This is what I’ve always wanted. To be understood, to be heard. To be seen.”
28. ‘Lotus’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Lotus Tattoo’ on her right arm.
Meaning: A lotus with a shade of pink and purple is inked on her right arm on February 25, 2015, after her breakup. This tattoo is a symbol of rebirth, relating to her new life after her breakup. She said,
“I do kind of regret this one. It’s my lotus, but it looks like an artichoke. And I got it the day my ex broke up with me the first time, I know, I’m a mess. And I thought, like an idiot, that I could combat an emotional pain with physical pain. Don’t do it guys-not smart.”
“I ended up looking like a colorful artichoke. And every time I look at it I just-I can’t stand it…This just looks so ridiculous. So I want to get that covered up so badly…Choose you artist well.”
29. ‘BAD IDEA’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘BAD IDEA’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: Julia hated her lotus tattoo so much that she decided to cover it up by tattooing a cross over it with the words in bold letters, saying, ‘BAD IDEA’. She never liked her lotus tattoo which she got after her breakup in 2015. So in July 2018, she covered up her lotus tattoo, which is being done by the artist, London Reese. She wrote,
“Because it was. And he was.”
30. ‘Gems’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Gems’ Tattoo on her right arm.
Meaning: Julia Michales got four gems tattoos on her right arm. A heart-shaped pink gem on her upper portion of her right arm, a blue diamond near her elbow, a round amber gem inside her elbow, and a dark-colored rhombus near her wrist. All of them are inked by the tattoo artist, London Reese on July 2018.
31. ‘Bird’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Bird’ Tattoo on her left forearm.
Meaning: A beautiful bird tattoo is inked on her left arm, by her favorite tattoo artist, London Reese in 2018. Birds tattoos are usually called as the symbol of freedom.
32. ‘Line’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Line Tattoo’ in the center of her chest.
Meaning: A straight line tattoo is inked in the center of her chest, just below her speak up tattoo in December 2018. According to her, this tattoo represents the two parts of her personality. She said,
“It’s a line in and down the middle of my chest. Compartmentalizing the two sides of me. The love and the hate. The logical and the emotional. Can’t really show you guys this one.”
33. ‘MORE’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘MORE’ Tattoo on the left palm.
Meaning: In July 2019, Julia got the word MORE tattoo on the center of her left palm.
34. ‘Unidentified Heart Banner’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Unidentified Heart Banner ‘Tattoo on the left arm.
Meaning: An unidentified heart banner tattoo is inked on her left arm. The tattoo is colored in red with unidentified words in bold letters on it. No information is available about this.
35. ‘Unidentified Portrait’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘An Unidentified Portrait’ Tattoo on her left arm.
Meaning: An unidentified portrait of a woman with a long text is inked on the upper portion of her left arm, near her shoulder. Julia has never publicly mentioned about this tattoo.
