Deborah Cox - life of a superstar - Brief Article

Ebony, March, 1999 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

Thanks to a soothing voice and captivating stage presence, a new star is born in the music world

HOW did she get here? Deborah Cox, a smart and savvy diva-to-be, is no newcomer to the music scene. Performing since the tender age of 13, she has already paid some serious dues.

Blessed with good looks and a God-centered psyche, Cox does not plan to fall into the drug, alcohol and the taken-advantage-of-by-men abyss that has plagued some of our great female singers. Banking on a long career in show business, she doesn't plan to be a one- or two-hit wonder.

Born in Toronto, Canada, this Black Canadian export has been blowing up the music world since her self-titled debut CD, released in 1995, went gold. That CD a string of hits, including "Sentimental," "Who Do U Love," "Where Do We Go From Here" and "The Sound of My Tears," that kept her on the charts and performing on the road until early 1997.

Her second CD, One Wish, also has gone gold and produced a platinum single, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," that remained in No. 1 spot on Billboard's music chart for eight weeks in late 1998.

"A lot of people talk about the sophomore jinx, but I never that at all," says the talented young singer, who is also a songwriter and producer. These talents, she feels, set her apart from other young singers. Her first CD included four songs that she wrote along with her writing partner, Lascelles Stephens. The current CD has three of her songs.

"Every album I do I try to inject some of my own material," she says. "I always try to maintain that other side, which is the artistic side and the more creative side. I think that people appreciate that side, because it's my own words; it's my own lyric; it's my melody that I'm putting down."

Ironically, it was a hot male singer, Montel Jordan, and producer-songwriter Anthony (Shep) Crawford, who wrote her megahit, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," a signature tune for those who stumble onto love unexpectedly. When she first heard the song, she says her jaw dropped. "I just knew in my heart that I had to record that song," she says now. "I've always wanted to do something that would take me in a totally different direction, in a more gospel direction."

The song's strong gospel flavor and rollicking church piano "gave it a live feel like it was recorded in concert," Cox says.

The song set the pace for the rest of the album. "All of the other material, in my mind, had to be up to the same standard," she adds.

The next single slated for release from the CD is "It's Over Now," written and produced by Kay-Gee of Naughty by Nature, his first production apart from the group Next. "It's a real different element," she adds. "People aren't even going to believe that it's me."

What she does want people to know about her is that she is about positivity, in her music and in her life. Spare her the drama, please. "There's this notion that if you're a female in the business that you have to be a `b', and I disagree," she says emphatically. "You can get your point across without being a `b,' if you know what you want and you stand finn on what you believe."

Cox, whose striking physical features have prompted many male stars to talk publicly about leaving their wives, says she runs into some people in the business who equate good looks with a lazy mind.

That would not be smart. Cox is no dumb cookie. "I don't get taken advantage of," she says, "because I don't give off that energy, My spirit is more settled and people don't really mess with me. I don't have the kind of problems that some other females in this business have."

Credit that to her Guyanese parents and her faith in God. "I understand the importance of having God in my life," she says. "I know that at the end of the day, the only person I have to answer to is myself and God."

The music business can lead an entertainer away from what's important, she adds. "I know if I have a really strong spiritual foundation that's what keeps me level-headed and sane." Family is very important to her and it pains her that she can't see her parents and two sisters as often as she would like. "It took a lot of getting used to being away from home and not being able to talk to them or see them as often as I like," says Cox. "Thank God for e-mail! We are definitely an Internet-friendly family."

Cox, 25, says she looks forward to having her own family someday because she loves children. She is single but is involved with a man in the music business who she prefers not to name. "It just works for us," she says. "He's a very, very strong man, and a very level-headed and confident man, so he doesn't have a problem with the success."

Meeting her fans and performing live are the best parts of this business, she says. "Performing live is the ultimate joy." To communicate with her fans, she has her own website, www.debracoxonline.com. "It's a really great tool, because I get to talk to the fans. It also has information on upcoming television shows and tour dates," she says.

Cox will probably begin a tour this spring that will continue through summer, although dates are still being finalized, she says. Until then she has a video shoot on her schedule and more performance dates.