Eden xo

Eden Wilson (née Malakouti), best known as Eden xo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. Described by the BBC as a "colourful, ambitious, out-and-out pop princess," she has been compared to Gwen Stefani and early Madonna.

Wilson was born in Anaheim and raised in Moreno Valley, California. Her father immigrated from Iran to the United States during the Iranian Revolution. Her California-born mother ran away to Guadalajara and got married when she was 19, having two children with her first husband before returning to the US.

As a child, Wilson wrote poems and put them to music. At age 12, she danced with a hip-hop crew and wrote raps that she performed in English and Persian. She graduated from high school two years early—she said in a 2011 interview that she had a "volcanic childhood"—and emancipated herself from her parents at 16.

Wilson moved to Los Angeles following her graduation. In 2006 she started an all-female punk band, Shut Up Stella, who were signed by Epic shortly after their formation. They recorded "Watch Me Rain", which was produced by Greg Kurstin and featured in movies including the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler film Baby Mama. The band was dropped in 2008 and Wilson quit, deciding to focus instead on her career as an actress, songwriter and solo artist. Among others, she later worked with Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. Her songs "Trash Me" and "Outsider", which she released independently, were used in the MTV series, The Hills.

At the end of 2008, Wilson signed with EMI Music Publishing. She spent the following two years in London, where she worked extensively with the French house music producer Fred Falke and Xenomania. She also worked with the Pet Shop Boys (with the London Symphony Orchestra), Kylie Minogue, and Johnny Marr. Her song "Standing Up for the Lonely" was released in 2009 on the dance label Ministry of Sound and appeared on the label's compilation albums The Annual 2010, Dance Nation 2 and Funky House Classics. She toured the UK with The Saturdays in 2009.

In 2010 Wilson created Jessie and the Toy Boys. It was a solo project; the Toy Boys were mannequins. She said in a 2011 interview that she wanted plastic bandmates that could not get in the way of her creative vision. Show Me Your Tan Lines, a five-song EP, was independently released in June 2011. Produced by Jimmy Harry and Tony Kanal, it included the single "Push It" (ft. Yelawolf)", which hit the Top 10 on the Billboard dance charts. Wilson performed the song on Conan, making her television debut. During the summer of 2011, Jessie and the Toy Boys opened for Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj on the North American leg of the Femme Fatale tour and in the fall played alongside artists including Steve Aoki, Pete Tong, Kaskade and Avicii as a main stage artist on the Identity Festival tour.

In 2012, Wilson began to generate coverage in fashion magazines such as Elle and Women’s Wear Daily. She did multiple shoots with Purple, including a Lolita- inspired editorial spread.

An advocate for LGBTQ rights, Jessie and the Toy Boys performed at events associated with the LGBTQ community such as the Palm Springs White Party and the Dinah Shore Weekend. She co-headlined Los Angeles Pride with Fifth Harmony, Kesha and Tinashe, and headlined Pride events in Chicago and Atlanta. Wilson's song "Runaway", written with DJ Skeet Skeet, was a statement against Prop 8.