--- title: Unexplained Justin Bieber Message is Written in the Sky in New York description: Twitter users saw planes write Justin Bieber Is a Smileophile in the sky on Sunday canonical: https://time.com/3921068/justin-bieber-smileophile-skywriter/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-15T14:15:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:38.659Z og:title: Unexplained Justin Bieber Message is Written in the Sky in New York og:description: Twitter users saw planes write Justin Bieber Is a Smileophile in the sky on Sunday og:url: https://time.com/3921068/justin-bieber-smileophile-skywriter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Unexplained Justin Bieber Message is Written in the Sky in New York twitter:description: Twitter users saw planes write Justin Bieber Is a Smileophile in the sky on Sunday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Everyone Wants to Know Why 'Justin Bieber Is a Smileophile' Was Written in the Sky in New York City > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Justin Bieber Undresses to His Boxers on Stage [Watch (HLS stream): Justin Bieber Undresses to His Boxers on Stage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cvj4h62K.m3u8) (0:15)  _Published 2014-09-10. Justin Bieber Undresses to His Boxers on Stage_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 15, 2015 2:15 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 15, 2015 2:15 PM UTC People in the New York City area have been [tweeting](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6598101/justin-bieber-skywriting-new-york) about planes writing “Justin Bieber Is a Smileophile” in the sky on Sunday. What does it mean? Maybe it is a publicity stunt. Maybe it is the work of some diehard fans. Maybe these diehard fans are trying to [rehab his image](http://noisey.vice.com/blog/justin-bieber-skywriting-smileophile) after a [streak of bad behavior](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/03/twitter-fights-reckless-driving-and-9-more-best-moments-of-bad-justin-bieber/) made headlines. .[@justinbieber](https://twitter.com/justinbieber?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) is a [#smileophile](https://twitter.com/hashtag/smileophile?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)? Seen above NJ [pic.twitter.com/oMgJJxkdIm](http://t.co/oMgJJxkdIm) — Jim Lee (@jjklee) [June 14, 2015](https://twitter.com/jjklee/status/610138135469686785?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) It is a mystery. _Read next:_ [Cursing Bill Clinton and 11 More Best Moments of ‘Bad’ Justin Bieber](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/03/twitter-fights-reckless-driving-and-9-more-best-moments-of-bad-justin-bieber/) ### See Justin Bieber Over the Years  Justin Bieber visits the Nintendo World Store in 2009. Mark Von Holden—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on Good Morning America: Weekend Edition in 2009. Anthony Randell—ABC/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on Today at Rockefeller Center in New York City in 2009. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. in 2009. Raymond Boyd—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage during Z100's Jingle Ball 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2009. Bryan Bedder—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs during TNT's Christmas in Washington 2009 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC in 2009. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam on February 4, 2010 in Miami Beach, Fla. Troy Rizzo—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage at the 2010 Nickelodeon Upfront Presentation at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. in 2010. Bryan Bedder—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on The View in 2010. Steve Fenn—ABC/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at 102.7 KIIS-FM's Wango Tango 2010 show, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ in 2010. Mark Von Holden—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on stage at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Kevin Winter—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ in 2010. Donald Kravitz—Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage at the 2010 American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2010. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber perform onstage during Z100's Jingle Ball 2010 presented by H&M at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2010. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on stage at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2011. Rob Verhorst—Redferns/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2011 live show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2011. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs during Christmas in Washington 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC in 2011. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  Tina Fey and Justin Bieber appear on Saturday Night Live. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ in 2012. Bennett Raglin—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs onstage at the 40th American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2012. Alexandra Wyman—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2012. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2012. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs during his Believe tour at Hallenstadion Zurich, Switzerland in 2013. The Image Gate/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs on stage at Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany in 2013. Stefan M. Prager—Redferns/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs during his Believe Tour at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY in 2013. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga. in 2013. Chris McKay—WireImage/Getty Images  Justin Bieber performs during Day 3 of Coachella in Indio, Calif. on April 13, 2014. Kevin Winter—Getty Images ## Transcript [ NOISE ] Is that better? So much. Thank you, Justin. 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