Courtesy Kellie Pickler

First Kellie Pickler shocked fans by debuting new auburn hair at the CMA Awards, and then just a month later she was back to her signature blonde. Now the country star is giving PEOPLE readers a first look at an equally bold new do -- a short crop! So what prompted Kellie to try a pixie cut? "My hair started falling out!" Pickler explains. "It was so damaged I looked like a scarecrow so I chopped it off!" During her recent USO trip to the Middle East, where she entertained and visited with troops in Iraq and Kuwait, her hair began falling out as a result of transitioning from blonde to red and back again. "I had two choices -- look like a scarecrow or cut it," she says. Though the style was dictated out of necessity, Pickler says that she's pleased with her new look, which recalls one of her own country idols. "Having short hair makes me feel like I set my self apart [style wise] from the other women in country music," she says. "I remember being in love with Lorrie Morgan's hairstyles growing up. I've always thought she was beautiful and confident." And what does her boyfriend, Nashville songwriter Kyle Jacobs, think? "Kyle could care less. He'd love me if I was bald, and vice-versa," she says. "What he and I have is very special. Unconditional. God blessed me with a good man."