5 Questions for Eva Marcille on 'Hair Battle Spectacular'

When Eva Marcille debuted her cropped blond 'do this year, we fell in love with her bold style.

Eva and her hot coif are headed to the TV screen as she hosts tonight's season two premiere of "Hair Battle Spectacular," in which top stylists compete to create the biggest and best in fantasy hair design.

Eva sat down to give ESSENCE.com a sneak peek of this season's show.

ESSENCE.com: Tell us a little bit about what we can expect from "Hair Battle Spectacular?"
EVA MARCILLE: It's going to be absolutely awesome! This year, the show has eleven stylists and they go head-to-head competing, doing various hair designs. At the end, one person will win $100,000. What's different for this year is that I'm hosting the show and there is a new judge, Taylor Jacobson, who is our style maven. Derek J, who is just king/queen of fantasy hair, is returning as a judge. He's an absolute sweetheart and he's a man in pumps -- and he can work some heels, let me tell you!

ESSENCE.com: How dramatic is the competition?
EVA: The competition is extremely dramatic. These are 11 amazing stylists who own different salons and are very prominent where they're from, and stopped everything going on in their lives to join this competition. Every single day they're competing against the best. They live together, they eat together, and they compete together. Competition brings out the best and the worst in everyone, which I personally know all too well.

ESSENCE.com: Did the atmosphere on "Hair Battle Spectacular" mirror your own experience competing on "Top Model?"
EVA: Yes, I know exactly what that feels like, having done "Top Model." We never knew how big one presentation or one challenge could be. Any day could be your last day, so the stakes are really high.

ESSENCE.com: Is there anything that surprised you about the process of creating hair art?
EVA: I didn't realize how intricate it actually was. Being from California, fantasy hair is not something that I grew up with. Today, you see Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga at every awards show with extravagant fantasy hair. To create some of the styles, they use foam fillers, chicken wire... and creating a steady foundation for the hair is really important. Also, someone actually has to wear this on their head, so it has to be comfortable enough for the model, but still creative and great enough to stand alone.

ESSENCE.com: What's the craziest hairstyle that you've ever rocked?
EVA: With my hair I tend to push the envelope often. I love my hair short because a lot of people think there's nothing you can do with it, but there are so many things you can do. I have had just about every color of the rainbow and have had just about every cut. One of my favorites was my platinum pixie cut. It's such a distinct look.

To see more of Eva's fierce hair and watch the competition unfold, be sure to tune in tonight for "Hair Battle Spectacular" on the Oxygen network.