Jessie Malakouti
Encyclopedia
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

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
Shut Up Stella
Shut Up Stella was an American pop, rock, and hip hop music group composed of Jessie Malakouti, Kristen Wagner, and Fan 3. They were signed to Epic Records and their sole release was a song on the Baby Mama soundtrack. All three members went on to pursue solo careers....

 and soon after signed with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

. 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
Baby Mama (film)
Baby Mama is a 2008 comedy film from Universal Pictures written and directed by Michael McCullers and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, and Dax Shepard.-Plot:...

. 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.

In 2008 Malakouti's songs "Trash Me" and "Outsider" appeared in episodes of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's The Hills
The Hills
The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...

. The songs were also independently released as music videos and digital downloads by Malakouti herself.

During the summer of 2009, Malakouti was an opening act for select dates on The Saturdays
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...

' UK Work Tour
The Work Tour
The Work Tour is the debut headlining theatre tour by British girl group The Saturdays. The tour became the bands first headlining tour, but their second time actually touring, after they spent part of 2008 as support act for Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour. The tour opened on 2 June 2009, and...

. A remix of her song, "Standing Up for the Lonely", appeared on Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...

's 2009 The Annual 2010
The Annual 2010
The Annual 2010 is the fourteenth album in The Annual series released by Ministry of Sound on November 2, 2009. Note that this article refers to the UK version of the album specifically....

compilation.

She is published as a songwriter by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 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
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

.

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
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....

 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".

During 2011, Jessie and the Toy Boys' song, "We Own The Night", was used by The CW Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...

 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
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...

 and Nervo on Britney Spears'
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

 sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour
Femme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...

, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...

.

Controversy

It has been widely reported that Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

'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. On November 16, 2008, blogger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...

 posted a story stating that Britney's producers had "stolen" the song from Malakouti, and that "the similarities were too much to be ignored." 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."

EPs

  • "Push It" Featuring Yelawolf: The Remixes (2011)

Track Listing:
  1. Album Version
  2. Richard Vission Solmatic Remix
  3. Ron Reeser & Dan Saenz Club Mix
  4. Junior Sanchez Niteversion Remix
  5. Skeet Skeet Remix
  6. Dirty Freqs Dancefloor Remix

  • Show Me Your Tan Lines (2011)

Track Listing:
  1. Push It (Ft. Yelawolf)
  2. Money Makes The Girl Go Round
  3. Valentine
  4. We Own The Night
  5. Summer Boy
  6. Push It (Ft. Yelawolf) (Dirty Freqs Dancefloor Remix)

Singles

  • "Trash Me" (2008)
  • "Outsider" (2008)
  • "Standing Up for the Lonely" (2009)
  • "Push It" Ft. Yelawolf
    Yelawolf
    Michael Wayne Atha , better known by his stage name YelaWolf, is an American rapper. He is currently signed to Shady Records, Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment and Interscope Records...

     (2011)
  • "Valentine" (2011)
  • "We Own The Night" (2011)
  • "Let's Get Naughty" (2011)

Compilation appearances

  • The Annual 2010
    The Annual 2010
    The Annual 2010 is the fourteenth album in The Annual series released by Ministry of Sound on November 2, 2009. Note that this article refers to the UK version of the album specifically....

    (2009, Ministry of Sound
    Ministry of Sound
    Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...

    ) (song: "Standing Up for the Lonely" Moto Blanco remix)
  • Dance Nation 2 (2009, Ministry of Sound
    Ministry of Sound
    Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...

    ) (song: "Standing Up for the Lonely" Bass Slammers remix)
  • Hed Kandi: Pure Kandi (2009, Hed Kandi
    Hed Kandi
    Hed Kandi is an UK-based record label and a music brand which was established in 1999 by Mark Doyle, specialising in funky, soulful house music. Hed Kandi's catalogue includes both artist albums and various genres of club compilations. As well as producing music albums and compilations, Hed Kandi...

    ) (song: "Standing Up for the Lonely" Moto Blanco remix)

Background vocal appearances

  • Pet Shop Boys
    Pet Shop Boys
    Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

    (2009, Love etc.
    Love etc.
    "Love etc." is a song by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys from their tenth studio album, Yes . It was released on 16 March 2009 as the album's lead single...

    ) (song: "Beautiful People")

  • Pet Shop Boys
    Pet Shop Boys
    Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

    (2009, Love etc.
    Love etc.
    "Love etc." is a song by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys from their tenth studio album, Yes . It was released on 16 March 2009 as the album's lead single...

    ) (song: "Love etc.")

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK