WELCOME TO OUR DEBORAH COX FEATURE:
THE TMH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Interviewed by Ross-William von Metzke
Message from Deborah
What an incredible way to start off the new year! I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my self over the holidays. For those of you who were at the shows with the Isley Bros...wasn't it great? "Mr. Biggs" is such a nice man and we all had a great time on the raod together! As for New Years Eve.. that was "DA BOMB"... I think that was the best New Year Eve I've ever had! From the Abyss to the Roseland and The Roxy... that was great and for those of you who were there, thanks for making that night so memorable.
Also for those of you who have inquired about an autographed photo, you gotta write the fan club, send to
DC International Network,
P.O Box 56239
Sherman Oaks, CA
91413 USA
It isn't everyday a singer is pegged as "the next Whitney
Houston" with the release of their debut CD.
It also isn't every day you come across a singer like Deborah
Cox. Young and beautiful with an unmistakable sound, Cox's self titled
debut hit stores in the Fall of 1995. Though critics raved about Arista
Records latest discovery, the release struggled a bit commercially and
Cox didn't quite emerge as the starlet Arista had hoped for.
Fear not. With the sophomoric effort "One Wish," 24 year old Cox
is out to prove the only way to go is up. And considering the album's
first single, "Nobody's Supposed to be Here," is entering its eleventh
straight week at number one on the R&B charts (currently #2 on the Top
100), "Things Just Ain't the Same" for Deborah Cox.
RVM: You spent three years in between the release of `Deborah
Cox' and `One Wish.' Considering the time spent in between, how do you
feel the new album compares to the first?
DEBORAH: I really went into this album knowing exactly what I wanted
to do, vocally and as far as the direction and the songs. I think the
reason I knew was because I learned so much from making the first album.
It's all about finding a direction and finding an image. All of those
things were a little more difficult the first time, because I'd never put
out an album before. Through doing shows and all of the different things
that come with having a record out, it was easier for me to focus on
those things I needed to do the second time around. Sometimes you have to
go through things to learn them, so you can apply them to another
situation.
RVM: What singers did you grow up listening to? Who do you feel
has most strongly influenced your music?
DEBORAH: Gladys Knight and Billie Holiday. I remember hearing Gladys
Knight for the first time and really understanding what emotion was
about. Same with Billie Holiday. Whenever I hear those singers it just
makes me work harder. As a singer, your job is to make people feel
something. They need to feel the story, or at least like they can relate
to it. That's what I endeavor to do anyway.
RVM: What are your feelings on the style of R&B music being
played right now? What do you feel you have to offer the genre?
DEBORAH: Well, since I grew up in Canada and listened primarily to Top
40 music and my parents records growing up, so I wasn't really exposed to
R&B in the way other R&B artists may have been. The culture is very
different in Canada. (laughing) We don't have any R&B stations, just for
starters. So I think because I grew up listen to such diverse styles of
music, I've always strived to do something different from the norm. As
far as the state of R&B right now, I think it's changing. There was this
lull in R&B for a minute where everything sort of sounded the same. But
with artists like myself who write and have a real strong sense of who
they are, I think we're really bringing the realness and the soul back to
R&B. It has to do with true talent too. It's about being able to not just
perform on an album but being able to perform live. I think the audience
is really taking us to task on that. You can just go do a show and not
deliver. So that's one of the things I'm trying to contribute to this
industry. I'm trying to bring back the real soul, you know... Back in the
day with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I think there's certain realness
and truth to what they sing, and I'm trying to enforce that in what I do.
RVM: What artists out there currently performing do you feel are
helping with that trend? Who do you enjoy listening to right now?
DEBORAH: I enjoy Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Face, R. Kelly. I
listen to a lot of Gospel, like Kirk Franklin. I enjoy artists who
understand what's going on as far as the trends but still lean a little
to the left. They have a way of separating themselves from what everyone
else is doing.
RVM: Growing up, did you always want to be a singer? Is that what
you always wanted to do for a living?
DEBORAH: Oh yeah, I knew. I always knew. I think it was because it was
so evident. Sometimes, you don't have something you can see. But singing
was always so tangible to me. I feel the most confident and the most at
ease when I sing. So I knew it was going to be a really good transition
for me to move into it. When I was about twelve, that's when I started
gaining a lot of credibility in the city. That's when I really started
working, professionally. Singing has always been something I knew I was
going to do.
RVM: Did you find, having grown up in Canada, that it was
difficult to be taken seriously as and R&B singer once you made the
crossover?
DEBORAH: No, I found that it opened a lot of eyes. I think it just
helped to solidify what so many people had known from the beginning. R&B
music sells. It had to take a really drastic move to open the eyes of the
Canadian industry about R&B music. For me, having success worldwide, it
helped to do that.
RVM: You songs first found success on the dance charts. I know
that's not the genre you set out to fit into. How did you feel when your
songs first found success there?
DEBORAH: When I first heard `Who Do U Love," which is the song that
I'll start with, we remixed that. We got David Morales to do it. That
remix came out so good, I felt it needed to be on the album. I've never
had a problem with being diverse, because I think by being as such you
aren't pigeon holed. It doesn't leave all of these expectations of always
being in one genre of music. I'm an artist, so I want to be able to do it
all. It's all about the music, and it comes in different forms. So, I
felt that by putting "Who Do U Love" on the album it would show all the
different sides of Deborah Cox. I thought that was important. So when
"Who Do U Love" hit the dance charts and that hit number one it was like,
`WOW.' That just reassured me that what I was doing was right. So we just
followed through once again. We recorded "Things Just Ain't the Same" for
the Money Talks Soundtrack, and then it just blew up. I never expected
that song to be on the charts for over a year.
RVM: So that song has become sort of your big landmark hit?
DEBORAH: Oh, big time. So I've basically just made that kind of the
norm. I've incorporated dance music into what I do because I think it's
very credible. I think that by doing it, the audience has shown me that
it gives the music emotion. It's become a part of me and a part of who I
am. I feel incredibly happy because by having such a diverse audience, it
leaves so many doors wide open. It opens up a whole new world for me that
may not have been opened before if I'd have just stuck with R&B. I love
doing the dance mixes live because there's a certain energy that comes
with performing them that I don't necessarily get from doing R&B.
RVM: Do you dance?
DEBORAH: I wouldn't say that I'm a dancer, but I can move. I have a
natural rhythm and a natural flow.
RVM: What is the next single going to be and are you going to
tour with this album?
DEBORAH: I'm definitely going to tour with this album. As far as the
second single, we're still thinking about it. I have a feeling it might
be "September," remixed by KG, which is the album's hidden track.
RVM: I know you've sung back-up for Celine Dion. What was that
like?
DEBORAH: Incredible. It taught me so much about discipline and that my
voice is not only in my throat but in my entire body. When Celine is on
tour, she doesn't sing or talk at all before a show, and that takes so
much discipline. Especially if you're a talker, which I can be sometimes.
She is incredibly professional. And when I say that my body is my voice,
I really mean it. When there's a party going on, sometimes I have to
refrain from going and staying out all night because, if I have a show,
it's taking a toll on my body which in turn affects my voice. That was
one of the main things that I learned from Celine.
RVM: Within the music industry, what are your goals? Where do you
hope to take this recording career?
DEBORAH: Straight to the top! With no boundaries. I want to be able to
go onstage with any artist and do whatever it is I want to do, yet still
make it credible and impactful. I don't want any limitations.
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