Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter
and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held
the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart (14 weeks), a record held
for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on Billboard's
Hot Dance Club Play chart. She is often cited as Canada's top R&B
artist.
Deborah Cox was born in Toronto to parents of Afro-Guyanese descent,
grew up in Scarborough, Toronto and attended Earl Haig Secondary
School.[1] She began singing for TV commercials at age 12, and entered
various talent shows with the help of her mother. She performed in
nightclubs as a teenager, and began to write music around the same
time.[2] Cox entered the music industry in the early 1990s, performing
as a backup vocalist for Celine Dion for six months.[1][3] After
receiving many rejection letters from Canadian record labels that
claimed their "quota" had been reached, Cox moved to Los
Angeles in 1994 with producer and songwriting partner, Lascelles
Stephens.[1][3]
[edit] Career
[edit] 1995–1997: Deborah Cox
In 1995, label executive Clive Davis signed Cox to Arista Records,
and she released her self-titled debut album the same year. After
middling success, Cox released a non-album single for the soundtrack
to the 1997 movie Money Talks, titled "Things Just Ain't The
Same". A dance mix of the song topped the U.S. dance charts
and was included on her second album, 1998's One Wish.
[edit] 1998–2001: One Wish
The first single from that album, "Nobody's Supposed to Be
Here", spent fourteen weeks at #1 on the Hot R&B charts
in the USA, as well as eight consecutive weeks at #2 on the Billboard
Hot 100. The album went platinum, becoming Cox's biggest-selling
album to date. Cox then recorded a new song, "Absolutely Not",
for the soundtrack to Dr. Dolittle 2. Remixes of the song repeated
the success of One Wish's singles on the dance charts, and the Chanel
mix of "Absolutely Not" was included on her third album.
[edit] 2002–2005: The Morning After and acting career
Cox's third album The Morning After was released in November 2002
on J Records.
On February 17, 2004, she made her Broadway debut in the Elton John-Tim
Rice musical Aida, returning to recording only to release a dance
remix of "Easy As Life" as a single.
Cox also has been involved in a number of movies and soundtracks.
In 2000, she played Niko Rosen in Love Come Down. In 2001, her hit
song "Absolutely Not" was featured in Dr. Dolittle 2. In
2005, in the movie Blood of a Champion she played the role of Sharon,
and again in 2005, her voice was featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda
in the song "Nobody Cares".
To sustain demand for Cox's club appearances, while focused on her
family and new album projects, she released a dance single titled
House Is Not a Home on Nervous Records in January 2006. Later in
the year, the song "Definition of Love" was used in the
movie Akeelah and the Bee, but was not released as a single.
[edit] 2006–2007: Destination Moon
Between 2005 and 2006 Deborah recorded her fourth album, called
Destination Moon. It is a tribute to jazz singer Dinah Washington
and was released on June 19, 2007.
Cox performed the Canadian national anthem at the 2008 NBA All-Star
Game in New Orleans. She contributed the song "This Gift" to
the soundtrack of the 2008 movie Meet the Browns and was part of
Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008. Deborah has also starred in "A
Good Man is Hard to Find" along side Golden Brooks and Darius
McCrary.
[edit] 2008–2009: The Promise
In early 2008, Cox & Stephens created the Deco Recording Group,
her very own independent label, which is distributed through Image
Entertainment. Soon she started recording songs for a new album.
Her fifth R&B studio album, The Promise, was released on November
11, 2008. The first single "Did You Ever Love Me" was released
to radio on August 26, 2008 and peaked at #69 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Songs Chart. The song "Beautiful U R" has been released
digitally to iTunes and Amazon.com on September 16, 2008. It has
recently reached #3 on the Canadian Radio Chart becoming her most
successful single in nearly ten years. It also peaked at #3 on the
Canadian Hot AC Chart (January, 2009 Chart) and hit #1 on the US
Dance chart becoming her tenth song to do it. Deborah has also appeared
during her promotion for "The Promise" with interviews
on Entertainment Tonight Canada, E-Talk, CHUM FM, Proud FM, various
CBC radio shows, and over 70 interviews across the country. The video
for "Beautiful U.R." is directed by Lil X, and has been
serviced on November 15, 2008. The song was certified gold for digital
downloads in January, 2009. "Saying Goodbye" was sent to
Urban/AC radios in February, while "The Promise" is scheduled
to be released as a single in July. Cox joined forces with Kenny
Lattimore for the "Timeless Promise Tour" in July 2009.
The Promise debuted and peaked at #106 on the US Top 200 and on
#14 on the US R&B Album Chart selling 6,419 copies in its first
week. As of September 19, 2009 it has sold about 38,700 copies in
the US.
In April 2009, she was featured on the single "Leave The World
Behind". The house track was produced by four DJs — Axwell,
Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso and Laidback Luke. It peaked at
#40 on the US Dance chart.
[edit] 2010–present: The Queen Project
In September 2009 it was announced she would be joining Kelly Price
and Tamia to form the super group The Queen Project. Their first
single "Queen" will be released this fall with a self-titled
album due early 2010. Shep Crawford will be the sole producer of
this album. The women seek to empower women of all ages, races and
backgrounds by doing a number of community service projects.
[edit] Personal life
Cox currently lives in Miami, Florida. She is married to her high
school sweetheart and manager, Lascelles Stephens.[4] They have three
children: son, Isaiah (born July 1, 2003), and two daughters, Sumayah
(born June 29, 2006), and Kaila Michelle (born February 23, 2009).[5]
[edit] Discography
Main article: Deborah Cox discography
1995: Deborah Cox
1998: One Wish
2002: The Morning After
2007: Destination Moon
2008: The Promise
[edit] Awards and nominations
1996
Won: Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording (Deborah Cox).
Nominated: American Music Award for Favorite New Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues.
1997
Nominated: Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist.
1998
Won: Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording ("Things Just
Ain't the Same").
Won: Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul Single - Female ("Nobody's
Supposed to Be Here").
1999
Won: Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording (One Wish).
Nominated: Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist.
Won: Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year ("Nobody's
Supposed to Be Here").
2000
Nominated: Genie Award for Best Original Song ("Our Love" and "29").
Nominated: Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo
("Same Script, Different Cast" feat. Whitney Houston).
Nominated: Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist ("We Can't Be Friends")
2002
Nominated: Juno Award for Best Dance Recording ("Absolutely
Not").
2008
Nominated: Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year (Destination
Moon).
Received a star on walk of fame, in Toronto's Scarborough Town Centre.
2009
Nominated: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (The
Promise).