The pop singer has adopted a revealing new wardrobe of spandex, short shorts, and crop tops, was named No. 1 on Maxim's 2013 Hot 100 list, and … yeah, there's that cray "We Can't Stop" video. As it turns out, there's an easily identifiable line where all this boldness started.

It's the moment Cyrus decided to chop her hair, of course. While she doesn't specifically say the haircut — which which took place almost a year ago, abruptly changing her long wavy locks into a punkish platinum pixie — is responsible for her recent string of brash headlines, she does admit it was a major game-changer.

 "I didn’t plan a haircut to change my life. I just cut my hair and then it really changed my life," Cyrus recently told the Toronto Sun."There’s something about having no hair that it screams being confident."

Indeed, the star has never expressed even an ounce of regret for going under the shears. "Never felt more me in my whole life," she tweeted upon debuting her new look. Enter twerking, giant teddy bears, and jumpsuits on the red carpet directly to follow.

Cyrus has received her share of criticism for the 'do, of course, including some mean-spirited speculation about her sexual orientation. However, that doesn't bother her a bit. "Being a lesbian isn’t a bad thing. So if you think I look like I’m a lesbian, I’m not offended," she noted, adding, "I’ve been called much worse. Being a lesbian is a compliment more than what else they call me.”

Love it or hate it, her attention-grabbing hair does seem to have propelled her attractiveness factor, if her top position on the fan-voted annual Maxim list is any indication. "People think short hair, they think tomboy … and I’ve obviously done the opposite ‘cause when I cut my hair, I did my first Maxim cover," she points out.

Heck, she's even broken new territory: "I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Maxim cover with a girl with short hair.”