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Jessica Eden Malakouti, professionally known as Jessie Malakouti, is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. She is currently a member of Jessie and the Toy Boys and is signed to Prospect Park.

Biography[link]

Jessie Malakouti began her professional performing career as a dancer at age 15 working the Hollywood audition circuit. She appeared in several music videos and commercials throughout her early teens.

In 2006 Malakouti began writing songs and performing live in sweaty dives along the Sunset Strip with her all girl So-Cal rock/rap band called Shut Up Stella and soon after signed with Epic Records. Shut Up Stella's music appeared in a variety of media between 2007–2008; "Watch Me Rain" was featured in MTV's "Sweet 16 The Movie" and "Welcome to My Party" appeared in the 2008 films "Girl Positive" and Baby Mama. On March 27, 2008 it was announced on their MySpace page that Shut Up Stella had been dropped by Epic and that Malakouti had decided to go solo.^[1]

In 2008 Malakouti's songs "Trash Me" and "Outsider" appeared in episodes of MTV's The Hills.^[2][3] The songs were also independently released as music videos and digital downloads by Malakouti herself.

It was reported that Britney Spears's 2009 single "If U Seek Amy" was heavily influenced by Malakouti's 2008 single "Trash Me", with the key, chord progression, BPM, and Melodies of both songs being identical.^[4] On November 16, 2008, blogger Perez Hilton posted a story stating that Britney's producers had "stolen" the song from Malakouti, and that "the similarities were too much to be ignored." ^[5] Malakouti commented about the situation to Company Magazine's January 2010 issue stating: " I read on Perez Hilton that Britney had recorded a song that sounded exactly like a song that I wrote and I was shocked! I'd written "Trash Me" two years before and pitched it for Britney's Blackout album, but decided to keep it for myself... I blame the writers rather than her. I felt betrayed at the time, but now it feels good to know that I set the trend and it's a massive compliment." ^[6]

During the summer of 2009, Malakouti was an opening act for select dates on The Saturdays' UK Work Tour. A remix of her song, "Standing Up for the Lonely", appeared on Ministry of Sound's 2009 The Annual 2010 compilation.^[7]

She is published as a songwriter by EMI and has been splitting her time between Los Angeles and London working on her debut solo album as well as writing for The UK's top pop production house Xenomania.^[8]

In June 2010, Malakouti announced that she had formed a new band called Jessie and the Toy Boys with four mannequins as her band members. Popular music blog PopJustice was first to stream audio snippets for Jessie and the Toy Boys' upcoming album. In the article music critique Peter Robinson says the new songs are "top notch" and exclaims, "Jessie is a big talent with enough proper actual popstarry xfactular 'star quality' to be a brilliant ambassador for her own tunes".^[9]

During 2011, Jessie and the Toy Boys' song, "We Own The Night", was used by The CW Network in their general promos for the station, as well as the station's written "motto" in their station promos. Jessie and the Toy Boys' first single "Push It", released February 2011, peaked at 7 on the Billboard dance chart.

On June 14, 2011, Jessie and the Toy Boys released an EP titled, Show Me Your Tan Lines.

Starting June 16, 2011, Jessie and the Toy Boys are serving as an opening act along with Nicki Minaj and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale.^[10]

Discography[link]

EPs/Albums[link]

Singles[link]