Confusion over why Bieber chose to serenade his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, with classic (to tweenagers) break-up jam "Cry Me a River!"
Any mixed messages to be had from that tattoo-related tidbit are easy to clear up, however. The kid getting inked would be Bieber, 17. (Though how he's maintained the physique of a milk-fed toddler this long does, in fact, remain a mystery.)
As any self-respecting Belieber knows, the kid's got two tattoos. He had a bird inked on his hip for his 16th birthday, and -- as documented in those PDA-filled Hawaiian holiday snapshots with Selena Gomez this spring -- he's got Hebrew lettering tattooed on the side of his ribcage.
That last piece is the tattoo being etched into Bieber's tender-as-a-spring-tulip boy-flesh in the new pictures.
As evidenced by Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III album cover, there are few things more badass than a baby with tattoos. But as the new photos, taken prior to May 2011, show, Bieber's new ink also has some touchy-feely significance The tattoo reportedly reads "Jesus" in Hebrew -- and Bieber's dad has an identical tatt to match. (If you flip through the pics posted above, the dude-bro with the goatee and cap would be the elder Bieber, Jeremy.)
Now that we've got that tattoo story cleared up -- and potentially confused you on another point (re: Confusion over whether you'll be added to a sex-offender registry for looking at half-naked photos of an underage pop star) -- on to that bit about Bieber urging GF Gomez to cry him a river.
Bieber made a surprise appearance at Gomez's concert in Costa Mesa, California Sunday. And before running through his own hit, "Favourite Girl," Bieber took the stage with a cover of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" -- a song which infamously addressed that pop star's public split from Britney Spears.
Bieber, however, was quick to dispel any speculation the song marked the end of Jelena. (And really, the big hug Bieber greeted Gomez with while taking the stage would have suggested as much, anyway.)
Bieber followed the set by Tweeting hearts and flowers to Gomez. "U did great tonight, proud of U," he wrote to Gomez. "Had a #greatnight and surprised the people. felt good to be on stage. nothing is changing that," he also Tweeted.
Watch fan footage of Bieber performing "Cry Me a River" below, and remind yourself that the kid is probably too young to have remembered the whole Britney/Justin debacle anyway -- even if he is apparently old enough to have tattoos.