We can officially place the resurgence of kitten heels, flare jeans, and Delta Goodrem‘s new look in the box of ‘things we didn’t see coming’.

The singer and The Voice host has said farewell to the goddess-y, golden-y, Pantene-commerical-y hairstyle we became accustomed to, instead opting for what looks like dreadlocks.

We think.

Look, all we really have to go off is a fan’s Instagram Story from last week. Make of this what you will:

Soon after the photo was made public, media sites jumped on the story. Fans lost their bloody minds. Hairbrushes were ceremoniously binned. Dogs started to ominously howl in the night. Hairdressers wept and wept. The world as we knew it capitulated.

But wait - the plot thickens.

Other recent photos of Delta show that she doesn't have dreadlocks at all. 

#ThinkAboutYou is all yours at midnight tonight ▷ click the link in my bio xx

A post shared by Delta Goodrem (@deltagoodrem) on Feb 14, 2018 at 11:37pm PST

It's all very serious and important and obviously calls for a journalistic investigation of the highest order. (I cry into my university degree late at night.)

Because I'm a writer of the people, let's explore the only plausible explanation.

Ahem.

Delta is wearing clip-in dreadlocks

Given it takes three to six months to form dreadlocks, and Delta has been photographed sans-dreads in the preceding weeks, we can only assume she's clipped in a little something-something.

I can see your eyebrows shooting off your forehead, but yes, I assure you that "clip in dreads" are a thing that people pay actual money for.

A quick trip to Etsy proves very lucrative for those who want dreads for a day. Perhaps Delta was searching for some kitsch handmade earrings last week and got a wee bit distracted?

I don't know. What I do know is that a set will cost you over $60 and will closely resemble a small mammal.

Whatever the case, it should be noted that dreadlocks are a culturally precarious hairstyle at the best of times. If Delta Goodrem has indeed adopted it, then this won't just be a sugary celebrity story, but a potentially political one.

Clare Stephens and Laura Brodnik dive deep behind-the-scenes of The Voice Australia, on our pop culture podcast The Binge below: