Menu

• Deborah Cox music
• Deborah Cox Biography
• Deborah Cox Photos
• Deborah Cox Songs & Videos

• 
• Print
• Send to a Friend

Having established a strong audience among pop, R&B and dance music lovers the world over through hit singles like "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," "We Can't Be Friends" (a duet with J Records' labelmate R.L.) and "Absolutely Not," her 1998 platinum album "One Wish" and her 1995 self-titled gold album, it would be easy for the Canadian-born songbird to rest on her laurels in approaching work for THE MORNING AFTER, her J Records debut set.

"Clive (Davis) and I have really become partners in working on each of my albums. In the past, we would have put the word out that I was recording and we would look for producers and songwriters to submit songs. Then Clive and I would decide what was right for the album. We didn't use that same method this time. This album evolved through the writing sessions I had with some of the producer friends I've made in this industry.

Making this record was more organic, honest and spontaneous..."
The result is that Deborah's third album demonstrates a new level of creativity, brimming with songs that speak to personal experiences, expressing her own truth about love and relationships. With complete candor, the soulful singer shares, "Take the title track, "The Morning After", it's about someone who ends up sleeping with her best (male) friend. Yes, I did that...and we ended up together. We were friends for years and one day, I just started looking at him in a different way. What did I do? Well...," Deborah pauses, "I told him I had feelings for him...and much to my surprise, he told me he felt the same way... In the song, it isn't resolved the same way but it's about something that does happen between people and they wake up the next morning and wonder, 'what do we do now?'"
Lyrical truth and reality are the hallmarks of many of the outstanding cuts on Deborah's shimmering third set.

"Hurt So Much," co-written with super hitmakers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis is what Deborah calls "a classic soul record. It's a situation that so many people find themselves in where they stay with someone rather than face the fear of being alone. The song also is about commitment. The commitment that finds you staying with someone even though they?ve messed up. I know so many people like that. I realize that one of my responsibilities as an artist is to express what other people are feeling."

An emotional highlight of the album, " Hurt So Much" is one of two songs Deborah worked on with Jam & Lewis and Big Jim Wright at the team's Minneapolis-based Flyte Tyme studios. The other tune, "Up And Down (In & Out)" is the album's fresh-flavored 1st single. "It was a real thrill for me working at Flyte Tyme," says Deborah. "The environment is really set up for the artist no distractions, no one just hanging out. When I was in the studio, it was like being with a band...we were jamming, vibing together and that's how those songs were created."

In the tradition of powerhouse ballads that allow Deborah to display her amazing vocal skills, THE MORNING AFTER includes "Play Your Part," written and produced by Shep Crawford who was responsible for Deborah's million-selling single "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" which broke all records by spending fourteen weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B charts after its release in 1998. "Shep wrote "Play Your Part" specifically for me. Originally, "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" was for Patti Labelle but I'm glad I got it! Now Shep is familiar with my vocal range so when we work together, we have a real chemistry...it's like we 'go to church' when we record!"
Deborah says her latest project "is a lot more truthful in terms of the topics I cover" and prime examples include "Too Good To Be True," a laidback acoustic-flavored cut (produced by Jermaine Dupri) and "Starting With You" (a Shep Crawford-produced track which addresses the importance of self-esteem and self-love in dealing with life, love and relationships). At the same time, THE MORNING AFTER has its fair share of upbeat dance-flavored grooves: there's "Like I Did," a funky jam produced by Rodney Jerkins and co-written by Deborah; "Just A Dance," produced by Battlecat, which Deborah explains "is the story of women who go out to the club just to dance...and don't want to be hassled by guys hitting on them all the time"; and the slinky, sexy "Oh My Gosh," another Warryn Campbell-produced cut.

Deborah explains that including dance remixes on her album was essential given the reaction to "Absolutely Not," a cut she originally recorded for the 2001 J Records soundtrack of "Dr. Dolittle 2." The track, remixed by Hex Hector, became a major international dance music hit and is included on THE MORNING AFTER. Its success further expanded the club audience established with the Hex Hector remix of "Things Just Ain't The Same," a tune that started out on the "Money Talks" soundtrack in 1997 and was later included on "One Wish," Deborah's platinum sophomore set. "Those dance remixes definitely broadened my fan base and I started developing a major following in the gay community. My other records have helped give me a base of solid and loyal fans and I'm proud to say that they cover a wide age range and include music lovers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Japan and now South Africa where I performed and had one of the most amazing experiences - being onstage in Johannesburg before 80,000 people who knew my music..."

Deborah's career has been filled with such accomplishments, accolades and achievements since the release of her impressive 1995 debut album which included the charted hits "Sentimental" (a Top 5 R&B single), "Who Do U Love" (a Top 20 pop single), "Where Do We Go From Here" and "The Sound Of My Tears." Signed to Arista Records by then-label President Clive Davis, Deborah brought a decade of honing her vocal skills, as a teenager growing up in Toronto, Canada.

Although her original interests were in journalism, poetry and sports (specifically track and field), Deborah's passion for music was sparked by hearing Gladys Knight sing "Help Me Make It Through The Night" when she was six years old. Fortunately, the Cox household's love for music allowed Deborah to be exposed to such artists as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bob Marley and pioneers like Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. Attending the Claude Watson School For Performing Arts, Deborah excelled in music, dance and drama and after winning a local television talent show at age eleven, she began singing commercial jingles and working at clubs with local bands. "I think I was probably the busiest student in school," Deborah recalls. "I'd finish at a club around 1:00 and have to get up for school or exams the next day. It was hectic but I really enjoyed performing..."

Continuing her studies in classical music and jazz, Deborah's partnership with high school friend, musician and songwriter Lascelles Stephens resulted in her first demo and in 1993, after singing backup vocals for Canadian superstar Celine Dion, Deborah's music came to the attention of Clive Davis. Impressed with her vocal range and soulful delivery, Davis masterminded her first album which featured tracks produced by Babyface, Dallas Austin and Darryl Simmons among others.

After extensive touring both at home and abroad, Deborah began working on her second album in 1997 but not before she had collected her two Canadian Juno awards for "Best R&B/Soul Recording" (in 1995 and 1996) and had been nominated for "Best New Artist" at the American Music Awards in 1997.

With the 1998 release of the powerhouse ballad "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," Deborah's career began to skyrocket. The single sold over a million copies, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and spent an astounding fourteen record-breaking weeks atop the R&B charts while a dance mix of the cut (by Hex Hector) became a club classic.

Once again working with a variety of producers including David Foster, Kay Gee., Montell Jordan, Shep Crawford, Darryl Simmons, Rodney Jerkins and DJ Quik, Deborah worked closely with executive producer Clive Davis in creating a second album that would cement the popularity she had achieved with her first outing. Buoyed by the across-the-board success of "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," ONE WISH was released in 1998 and led to further acclaim, recognition and a touring schedule that lasted for almost three years.

The album garnered Deborah several awards including another Juno, a Soul Train Music Award, a Lady Of Soul Award and an Essence Award nomination. Deborah's duet with R.L., " We Can't Be Friends" was released as a third single from ONE WISH (following the Top 20 R&B hit "It's Over Now") in the summer of 1999 and topped the R&B charts as well as reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100.

In 2000, Deborah toured with the famed Lillith Fair on shows with such artists as Sheryl Crow, The Dixie Chicks and Sarah McLachlan, further expanding her visibility. "Same Script, Different Cast," a duet with Whitney Houston, was included on Houston's "Greatest Hits" package in 2000; and the same year, Deborah branched out into acting via "Love Come Down," a critically-acclaimed independent film that also starred Larenz Tate. "I was bitten by the acting bug," says Deborah, who has also had a recurring role in "Nash Bridges" with Don Johnson and Yasmine Bleeth. "I'm definitely looking into some other film roles for the future..."

While the silver screen may figure prominently in her future plans, music remains the central theme in Deborah's ever-burgeoning career. She performed at Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden and on the Stellar Gospel Awards in 2001where she performed ? Thy Will Be Done ? a collaboration with Kirk Franklin.

Deepening her commitment to humanitarian causes, Deborah traveled to Uganda and Mozambique for "World Vision" on what she describes as a "life-altering trip that impacted me personally in a profound way," raising awareness for the organization's child sponsorship efforts and co-hosting its annual telethon.

In 2001, Deborah also began work on her third album: "There was some delay because of the transition of moving from Arista Records to J Records but we finally got going in the middle of the year. I felt that with this record, I didn't have to try to fit in or conform with what was happening on the airwaves. I've been very fortunate in establishing an international audience that covers many different age groups and musical genres through the last two albums. I think that what I did for this album is what my fans expect from me: I'm being completely honest with my music...I'm being real."

Whether singing her heart out on tracks like the standout pop-R&B ballad "Play Your Part" and the emotion-drenched " Hurts So Much" or riding the groove with "Up And Down" and "Like I Did," Deborah Cox is indeed being real, offering her most personal work to date with THE MORNING AFTER, the latest milestone in her exciting journey as a premier worldwide ever-soulful diva.

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.