Katy Perry teased fans with a brand-new hairstyle for spring. On Monday, April 29, the 39-year-old singer and American Idol host appeared to say goodbye to her long dark locks for a shorter and edgier style—only to later confess that it was a wig all along.
Her playful deception began when she shared not one but two posts on Instagram, revealing her “new hairdo” to her 207 million followers. The first post featured a video of celebrity hairstylist Jesus Guerrero putting the finishing touches on her short haircut: a choppy, layered bob that the hairstylist parted to the side. (View the video here.)
She humorously captioned the video, “thoughts, comments, concerns? 👇🏼” Her followers promptly responded with a mix of praise and unsolicited criticism, including remarks like “don’t get carried away, girl.” Another boldly commented, “Someone needs to keep the scissors away from your head.”
However, after the most recent American Idol episode aired in which Perry debuted her new haircut, she returned to Instagram with a revelation. This time, she posted a series of glamour shots of the look but urged followers to swipe to the fourth slide for the truth.
“You guys had a lot of strong feelings about my haircut. Let’s see that energy for KP6 because this is just a wig,” she said before winking at the camera. (KP6 is in reference to her untitled sixth mainstream studio album, which she’s been teasing fans with for some time.)
There’s no denying the short style would have been a dramatic change from her current hairstyle. As recent as last week, she was photographed at the 35th Annual Colleagues Spring Luncheon & Oscar de la Renta Fashion Show with her long hair styled pin-straight and center-parted, a literal 360 compared to her most recent look.
But that’s not to say Perry’s against dramatic hair changes. After all, she’s practically the queen of them, given her hair color and style are ever-evolving. One of her most dramatic transformations through the years is when she debuted platinum blonde pixie in 2017—and she’s been open about its impact on her.
“Changing my hair definitely was the biggest physical transformation I have experienced as a woman,” she told Paper Magazine in February of 2019. “When you don’t have long hair, you really can’t hide behind it. Everything is exposed.”
And that’s certainly not the only time she spoke out about the positive impact short hair had on her. “Everything is more fun with short hair!” Perry told W Magazine in August of 2017. “I can just get up and go. I feel so liberated with this hair now. In general, I feel 360-degrees liberated—all around. Whether it’s politically, mentally, spiritually, sexually. I feel liberated from all the things that don’t serve me.”
