About
The Iowa born, Nashville bound artist, XOLEX (pronounced like her usual sign-off, XO, Lex) is a non-conformist country woman, and won’t apologize for it. Forged by gritty faith and relentless resolve, her sound fuses pop sensibilities with soulful roots and a rock n’ roll edge. At the center of her relatable narratives and lyrical prowess, is a voice that’s raw, addictive, and impassioned, laying the groundwork for a lane that’s all her own.
Her emboldened single, “Ain’t Buyin It”, co-written & produced by Nashville veteran Bobby Terry (Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw) and fellow songwriter EllieMae, is the power charged boost we all needed but didn’t know we deserved. XOLEX, who has been open about her past experience in a toxic relationship, gifts us an empathetic and unwavering, moving on anthem, in “Ain’t Buyin It”, rather than dwelling on her past misfortunes.
XOLEX, whose given name is Alexis Curran, began writing songs as a child in the small town of Chariton, Iowa. She spent her early years cultivating a strong sense of community roots, family values, and some creative ways of passing the time. “There wasn’t much to do so my friends and I would do the craziest stuff like floating down a dirty river or go “wheeling” and “mudding” which was basically us just us four-wheeling and driving big trucks around in the mud on a rainy day. Looking back it’s so funny to me.”
After high school XOLEX attended Iowa State University, where she studied marketing and advertising, and began to cultivate her unique style and individually. “In the same way that somebody can go to a country concert and jam out with their boots and cowgirl hat and then the next day go to a hip-hop/trap gig with heels and a sexy dress—I just love it all. To able to connect with everyone despite different upbringings, or cultural backgrounds is important and beautiful and that’s what being human is about.” During her freshman year at school, she began to experience some unexplained and longterm symptoms. As time went on, she was sleeping 14+ hours a day and still waking up tired, unable to brush her teeth or hair and sometimes had a hard time breathing. After months searching for answers and what she best describes as divine intervention, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She has since turned to holistic health and medicine and hopes to educate others on how to handle chronic pain. “Health and wellness is something I’m extremely passionate about and in a way it chose me. My end goal is to move people with my music but also my life story and set an example.”
At the start of the pandemic, XOLEX decided to take her songwriting to the next level and quickly found the studio to be her sanctuary. After some trial and error and deciding to walk away from a less than desirable recording contract, she has found herself at home with her Nashville music team. Through it all she’s developed a resilience and swagger that’s common among her biggest female influences: Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Adele and Carrie Underwood.
“No matter what, my energy speaks for itself and I hope that people can feel that and connect with me through my music, to know they’re not alone.”
- xo, Lex.