Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Erika Van Pelt showed up on the American Idol stage this week sporting a new look.

She had shortened her hair. She had dyed it black.

And then she launched into a rendition of “New York State of Mind” that got generally good reviews from the Idol judges.

None of it mattered.

When it came time to dole out results Thursday night, the news was the same. She was in the bottom three. For the third straight week.

And this time she was the low vote-getter, leaving the 26-year-old from South Kingstown, R.I., in 10th place.

Erika talked about her Idol experience during a Friday afternoon conference call with the media.

Here’s what she said:

* She doesn’t think the change in look was detrimental. It might have helped people take notice of her. “I said earlier I felt like I was drowning in a sea of blondes,” she said of all the blondes in this year’s cast. Tommy Hilfiger recommended cutting her hair shorter; she decided to take it another step and go dark.

* She says she’s not sure why other contestants opted not to follow Tommy’s advice. “I’m so go with the flow, it’s hard for me to imagine not taking risks. Some people might be afraid of change. Some people might be so sure of themselves, they don’t want to budge one bit. I understand it both ways,” she said.

* Her family was not the least bit surprised by her change in look. She says she’s a chameleon when it comes to hair color and hair styles. “It’s been every color of the rainbow. They were probably like, ‘There she goes again.'”

* She wasn’t surprised the judges didn’t use their save Thursday night. She thinks the judges are wary of using it too soon after using it early last year on Casey Abrams and then not having it available when Pia Toscano was eliminated. They probably feel they might need to save the save for an even more extreme elimination, she said.

* She hoped to sing Pink next week. Now she’s hoping to get a chance to do so on the summer tour.

* She has a nodule on her vocal chords which has taken away some of her range and thinks that might have had an impact on how she came across to fans.

* She “absolutely” thinks age is part of the way the voting is going. “Being the two oldest definitely played a part in where we finished,” she said of herself and Elise Testone, 28, who has also landed in the bottom three. Erika is 26. She also says the thinks she and Elise are two of the more “out-of-the-box” contestants.

* She also said the gals are aware of how male-dominated Idol has been in recent years. They realize teenage girls make up a large part of the viewership. “If I was watching at home, it would be hard for me not to vote for the really cute guy,” she said, adding that the guys on this year’s cast are all talented musicians.

* “I think it is 100 percent harder for the girls,” she added. “The voting demographic is a lot of adolescent females. I do think it’s a harder hill to climb for the ladies. Do I believe a girl can win again? Absolutely. I totally think a girl can win.”