All The Buzz! Willow Smith Shaves Her Head During 'Whip My Hair' Performance
A bold new look! Willow Smith shaved her head during a pop-punk remix performance of her debut single "Whip My Hair."
Smith shed her locks while sitting down and playing guitar to wrap up her Facebook Live event Willow in Concert: Lately I Feel Everything. The event was held to promote the release of the 20-year-old's new album, which features appearances from Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne.
"I'm thinking about shaving my head during the 'Whip My Hair' performance," Smith said beforehand in a behind-the-scenes clip. "This is gonna be my third time in my life shaving my head. I'm always shaving my head at monumental times in my life, when things are really changing. And this is definitely one of those moments."
In March 2020, Smith said goodbye to her tresses when she spent 24 hours in a glass room during an art installation at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. In 2012, she got a buzz cut at 11 years old, telling PEOPLE in 2019 that "it was the perfect way to rebel" amid her sudden fame.
The "Transparent Soul" singer explained that while her genre of music changes, she always has the same thing to say. "The core idea of 'Whip My Hair' is the core idea of all my music," she has previously said.
"For some many years I just kinda spiraled and didn't really understand that and wanted to push myself away from that without having my understanding," she explained. "I'm pushing away the very thing that is who I am."
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"I want to be promoting positivity, I want to promote expression," she said while reflecting on the song.
"I was super young, and I had a dream, but all I really wanted to do was sing and I didn't equate that with all the business and the stress that ended up coming with it," Smith previously said of the stardom that came with the debut. "I was just like, 'Whoa, this is not the life that I want.'"
Meanwhile, fans took to the comments during the performance to encourage her.
"That head shave was EPIC!!!! Willow you are THAT GIRL!!" one user gushed.
"A true talent and inspiration, thank you for sharing this art. I love youuuu," another wrote.
"Ok, totally teared up at the end. I can't wait to get this album!" a third fan commented.
Smith even recently convinced her mom, Jada Pinkett Smith, to shave her head. "Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50's are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed," the 49-year-old recently shared on Instagram with a mother-and-daughter selfie.
