American Idol Contestant's Drastic Hair Cut: Would You Be So Brave?

Erika Van Pelt, you are one brave chick!

To go from long blond/auburn streaked hair to a super cropped jet-black do, takes a lot of guts. And to debut the new hair cut on live TV in front of millions of American Idol viewers, well, that's evencrazier.

"I knew I wanted to do something drastic with my hair," Erika told People magazine after the show. "I get this sense of liberation when I get my hair cut. It’s a stress reliever for me, to be honest." And new A.I. image consultant, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, encouraged the contestant to change up her look.

Another plus for the fab singer: "It’s nice to feel my neck again."

Erika is not afraid of very short hair. "It’s actually been shorter than this before, so I wasn’t scared about that part," she said. "But I was sort of thinking what my fans would think and what would America think."

Talk about a healthy dose of self-confidence. We admire you, Erika Van Pelt.

We think that Erika looks pretty with either hair color and cut. The new jet-black do is quite edgy and sophisticated. It reminds us a lot of Kardashian mama Kris Jenner's cropped cut. Or on the music side, a bit like vintage Pat Benatar.

So, the question begs:

Would you be so brave to show off a totally different hair color and hair length to millions of people?

We already know our answer. We're such a baby. No way. We've been sitting here with our too short Rooney Mara bangs, and we're still freakin' out.