Erika Van Pelt stunned American Idol viewers by chopping off her blonde hair and dying it dark. But did it lead to her elimination?

I'm sure it confused some people that may have a little trouble either with change or thinking a little bit outside the box, she said in a conference interview.

However, Van Pelt doesn't regret the drastic change.

This was my chance to break out, she said.

She actually wanted to change her hair earlier in the competition, but wasn't allowed to because of consistency with the show, according to E! Online.

Van Pelt, 26, also explained that the judges' comments had confused her recently.

I felt like there were a lot of comments that were contradicted week to week, she said. First I wasn't doing enough, then I was doing too much, then not enough, then I was over-singing. I felt like I could never just sing and be myself.

After leaving the show, Van Pelt revealed that she has a vocal nodule.

This is a weird thing. I was actually listening to recordings of myself from four or five years ago when the nodule wasn't present on my vocal cords and I certainly sound completely different, she explained to E! Online. It's certainly something that I'm trying to maintain and not let get any worse.

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