This week, pop superstar Katy Perry appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to discuss new motherhood (“the best decision of my life,” she says), and to promote the new season of American Idol, on which she is a judge (it premieres this Sunday).

Perry dressed up for the affair in a splendid Dundas dress—but her striking beauty look had us thinking she had travelled back in time. Perry switched up her recently-bleached blonde hair for a darker shade that channels her early days of fame.

When Perry first rose to stardom with her hits “I Kissed a Girl” and “Hot N Cold” in the late 2000s, she hit the scene with her now-signature beauty look: black, face-framing locks. It’s a look she’s kept for most of her career, including during the era of her mega-popular albums, “One of the Boys” and Teenage Dream.” In 2017, however, the singer went with a drastically new coiffure—pixie cut and peroxide—and she’s been a devoted blonde ever since.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry)

Don’t get too excited about Perry’s long-haired, raven-colored hair revival on Kimmel, though: It isn’t permanent. Executed by her stylist Jesus Guerrero, the bold new look was the result of a well-placed wig. “Everything is fake,” Perry said on an Instagram story following the appearance, in which she is seen with her shorter, blonde hair again.

“I wanted to take Katy back to her roots by throwing it back to her dark hair,” Guerrero tells Vogue. “This look is fun, cool, and embraces light texture with layers and choppiness. The key is to keep it looking effortless, which the OGX texture spray and Coconut Dry Shampoo helped me achieve.”

It still fooled Kimmel: “You look fantastic: I never know what length your hair is going to be, what color your hair is going to be,” he said on the show. “I like to keep people on the edge of their seats,” replied Perry. “When mom has a night off, she leans all the way in.”