Britney Spears' brunette look inspiration

Popstar Britney Spears surprised fans, showing off her new brunette locks at Sir Elton John's annual Oscars party in Hollywood on Sunday and said to have picked out pictures in magazines to help her make a decision.

Britney's colourist Brittany Hunter from Mark Slicker Salon told E! News: "Britney has wanted a change for about a month. We both pulled out general pictures from magazines that we both like and then we collaborated on the colour. I wanted to keep her as close to her natural colour as possible, so not too dark.”

“In the end we went with a very natural and rich light brown. We wanted the right tone that would complement her skin colour."

Despite being notorious for her blonde locks since she first shot to fame at the age of 16, the singer - who recently quit her role on 'The X Factor' USA and split from fiancé Jason Trawick - was "ready for a change", according to Brittany.

The stylist said: "We wanted to make sure she was going to be committed to it before we made the change as it can be a difficult process going from light blonde to brunette. We started the process on Thursday and then finished it up on Sunday.

"She was very happy with the result. I do think she will stick with it."