This week, we saw this surprisingly normal, All-American photo of Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus over at Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and we were impressed by his enduring handsomeness — not to mention his ability to turn those squeaky clean Beach Boy vibes into an indie rockstar persona. Inspired, we started wondering what other famous musicians were like in high school — or at least what they looked like — and we were totally surprised by what we found: they were nerds, average joes, and goody-two-shoes kids, just like us! Or at least they look that way from their high school yearbook photos, which as we all know, reflect the sharpest version of reality. From the adorably square to the just aggressively normal, click through to take a peek at some of your favorite musicians’ dorky high school yearbook photos. It’s true what they say — we all go through an awkward phase. If only we could all come out of it looking like Beyoncé.

Stephen Malkmus

Iggy Pop

Janis Joplin

Debbie Harry

Katy Perry

Lil’ Jon

Adam Lambert

Conor Oberst

Marilyn Manson

Paula Abdul

Willie Nelson

Bruce Springsteen

Lady Gaga

Avril Lavigne

Beyoncé

Jim Morrison

Eminem

Madonna

Gwen Stefani

Kanye West