Fans are wearing bald caps to Pitbull shows. Miami rapper thanks his "baldies"
Ladies love him. Everyone wants to be him — bald head and all.
Pitbull, the Miami native and club-rap superstar, is embracing a viral trend where fans show up to his concerts wearing bald caps and fake beards to copy his signature look.
Why it matters: It's the latest iteration of the concert uniform, as the New York Times describes it, popularized by artists like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and — historically — the late Florida singer Jimmy Buffett.
Catch up quick: The social media-fueled phenomenon started after COVID-19 but has gone "to a whole other level" during Pitbull's current European tour, the rapper — real name: Armando Christian Pérez — told BBC News.
The globe-trotting Cuban-American artist, nicknamed Mr. Worldwide, has always been a favorite target for fan imitation: His quotable lyrics ("Dale!"), nostalgic party anthems and trademark look have made his brand eternally durable.
The latest: Masses of fans showed up to his London concert on Monday in full Pitbull regalia, turning the crowd into a "sea of nude latex," the Times reported.
"To wander among the Pitbulls feels like Halloween night, if Halloween had only one costume option and it was Pitbull," Times reporter Callie Holtermann wrote.
"I'm pretty sure every party shop in London is sold out of bald caps," a fan told the newspaper.
Pitbull, ever the business man, even started selling a " Mr. 305 kit" with a bald cap and bowtie for $19.99.
Outside the O2 Arena, fans told the Times that it was "one big inside joke" or "mob mentality" that motivated them to draw on fake mustaches with liquid eyeliner and cut up stockings to make bald caps.
It resembled, per the Times, "one of the planet's largest and most haphazardly assembled drag shows."
What they're saying: Pitbull told the BBC it's "an honor" and makes him "very happy" to have fans dress as him for his shows.
"To be able to motivate and inspire them, and see that they feel that it's deeper than just music, like they're a part of a movement and have a purpose in what we got going on, that to me is priceless."
The bottom line:"So to all the baldies, thank you, I appreciate you — and they're the baldies because we soar high like bald eagles."
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