She began singing for TV commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows with the help of her mother. She performed in nightclubs, and began to write music around the same time. Cox entered the music industry in the early 1990s, performing as a backup vocalist for Celine Dion for six months.
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 that song topped the U.S. dance charts and was included on her second album, "One Wish" in 1998. The first single from that album, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", spent 14 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.
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".
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.
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 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.
She has also starred in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" along side Golden Brooks and Darius McCrary.
In early 2008, Cox and Stephens created the Deco Recording Group, her very own independent label, which is distributed through Image Entertainment.
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.
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.
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.
In September 2009 it was announced she would be joining Kelly Price and Tamia to form the super group The Queen Project. In a February 2012 interview with Seattle Gay News, Cox confirmed that those plans were on hold, due to scheduling issues. "Each of us has moved on and we are all doing our own projects now." She also noted that she is currently working on a dance album. "My fans have been hounding me about another 'remixed' album."
In December 2011 Deborah achieved her 11th number 1 with "If It Wasn't For Love".
On September 7, 2012 Cox gave her inaugural performance as Lucy the female lead in a revival of the musical Jekyll & Hyde starring Constantine Maroulis: after premiering in La Mirada CA this production toured North American for twenty-five weeks playing at twenty locales, then began previews for its Broadway run April 5, 2013 officially opening its planned limited engagement Broadway run of thirteen weeks on April 18, 2013. Despite Cox herself receiving good reviews, the production did not enjoy strong Broadway box-office and subsequent to its non-showing in the 2013 Tony Awards list of nominees announced April 30, 2013 Jekyll & Hyde was announced to be playing its final show May 12, 2013. Cox had a new track "Higher" issued in the autumn of 2012, and in May 2013 stated she was planning to record a dance version of the Jekyll & Hyde number "Someone Like You". Also, in April 2013 Cox stated that a projected Broadway musical in which she'd play Josephine Baker, which had been workshopped in 2011, was still planned, the production being dependent on an available venue.
In 2014, she was one of the performers at the opening ceremonies of WorldPride in Toronto, alongside Melissa Etheridge, Tom Robinson and Steve Grand.
Cox provided vocals for the 2015 Whitney Houston biopic, Whitney, directed by Angela Basset. The same year, she released the deep house-influenced "Kinda Miss You", as well as the ballad "More Than I Knew" as singles. In 2016, Cox played the lead role of Josephine Baker in the Broadway-bound musical Josephine, which chronicled the singer's life between the years of 1939 and 1945, and starred as Rachel Marron in the North American Tour of the musical The Bodyguard based on the 1992 film of the same name. In support of the musical, Cox released the EP I Will Always Love You on Deco and Broadway Records, containing cover versions of seven Whitney Houston originals as well as Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You."[31] In June 2017, she released an uptempo dance single "Let the World Be Ours Tonight" during LGBTQ pride season on Radikal Records and Galactic Media. It marked her 13th single to top Billboard's Dance Club Songs.
In June 2019, she performed at Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019. In November 2019, Cox released the Rico Love-produced single "Easy Way" through Deco Entertainment. The song is expected to lead her seventh studio album, which is expected to be released in late 2020. In February 2020, Cox starred opposite Roger Guenveur Smith in the BET+ television thriller Influence, an adaption of Carl Weber's same-tited 2018 novel, portraying a big-name celebrity singer accused of killing her husband. Also in 2020, she appeared as a guest host in an episode of Canada's Drag Race and started webseries titled COXtales with Deborah Cox during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Deborah Cox was added to the BET series First Wives club during Season 2, playing the musician "Regina". In addition, she stars in a minor role as Wendy on the limited HBO TV series, Station 11.
Baby You've Got What It Takes
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Woo, come and sing with me
Well, it takes more than a robin to make the winter go
And it takes two lips of fire to melt away the snow
Well, it takes two hearts a-cookin' to make a fire grow
Ooh baby, you've got what it takes, yeah
Mmm, it takes a whole lot of lovin' to make my life complete
And it takes a whole lot of man, yes, it does to knock me off my feet
Oh, oh baby, see you've got what it takes, yes, you do
And I say, mmm, oh, ooh
You know you've got just what it takes
And it takes more than an effort to stay away from you
And it takes more than a lifetime to prove that I'll be true
But it takes somebody really special to make me say, I do
Oh and baby, you've got what it takes, yes, you do
Ah, mmm, ah, mmm
See you know you've got just what it takes
'Cause it takes more than an effort to stay away from you
And it takes more than a lifetime to prove that I'll be true
But it takes somebody special to make me say, I do
And you know baby, baby, see you've got what it takes, yes, you do
Oh baby, baby, baby, baby, you've got what it takes, yes, you do
Oh baby, baby, you, you've got what it takes
Oh, don't matter if you're going gray baby
Don't matter how you wear your hair baby
Don't matter if you wear those fancy clothes
Oh, it don't matter where you wanna go, I'll be with you
Yes, I do, yes, I love you
And you, you, you, you've got what it takes
Oh, baby, oh you, you, you, you've got what, what it takes there
Baby, baby, baby, you've got what it takes
Really something special about you, really something special about you Oh, oh, oh yeah
The lyrics to Deborah Cox's song "Baby You've Got What It Takes" are all about the special qualities of the person she loves. She sings about how it takes more than just one thing to make a relationship work, and how her partner has the qualities that make their love special. She talks about how it takes both physical and emotional qualities to make the fire of love grow, and how her partner has all of those qualities – "two lips of fire," "two hearts a-cookin'."
In the second verse, Cox talks about how it takes a whole lot of love and physical attraction to make a relationship complete – "a lot of kissin'" and "a whole lot of man." She also mentions that it takes someone really special to make her want to say "I do."
Throughout the song, Cox emphasizes that her partner has what it takes to make their love work, no matter what – even if they're going gray, wearing fancy clothes, or going to different places. The song is all about how special her partner is to her, and how they have what it takes to make their love last.
Overall, the lyrics to "Baby You've Got What It Takes" celebrate the special qualities of the person Cox loves, and showcases how much she appreciates them. It's a song about the power of true love and how it takes more than just one thing to make it work.
Line by Line Meaning
You got what it takes baby
I believe in you and am confident you have the necessary qualities
Well, it takes more than a robin to make the winter go
You need more than one small thing to achieve something great
And it takes two lips of fire to melt away the snow
Intense and passionate effort is required to overcome obstacles
Well, it takes two hearts a-cookin' to make a fire grow
Collaborative effort and shared passion is needed for success
You know it takes a lot of kissin' to make a romance sweet
Real affection and effort is needed to create a loving relationship
Mmm, it takes a whole lot of lovin' to make my life complete
My happiness and satisfaction is dependent on receiving a lot of genuine love and care
And it takes a whole lot of man, yes, it does to knock me off my feet
It takes a truly special person to impress and win me over
And I say, mmm, oh, ooh
Expressing delight and pleasure
You know you've got just what it takes
You have all the necessary qualities and abilities
And it takes more than an effort to stay away from you
It's difficult to resist being with you and takes more than willpower alone
And it takes more than a lifetime to prove that I'll be true
Proving my faithfulness and love to you will take more than just a long time
But it takes somebody really special to make me say, I do
Marrying someone requires a deep connection and special qualities
Oh and baby, you've got what it takes, yes, you do
You are that special person with the qualities I'm looking for
Ah, mmm, ah, mmm
Enjoying the moment and basking in the pleasure
See you know you've got just what it takes
I want to reassure you that you have what it takes, because you matter to me
'Cause it takes more than an effort to stay away from you
I need more than just willpower to keep from being near you
But it takes somebody special to make me say, I do
It takes someone extraordinary to inspire me to make a lifetime commitment
And you know baby, baby, see you've got what it takes, yes, you do
I believe that you're that extraordinary person with the qualities I need
Oh baby, baby, baby, baby, you've got what it takes, yes, you do
You possess the necessary qualities and abilities to fulfill my desires
Oh baby, baby, you, you've got what it takes
I'm confident in your abilities and qualities to make me happy
Oh, don't matter if you're going gray baby
Your aging appearance doesn't diminish your worth or desirability
Don't matter how you wear your hair baby
Your hairstyle or appearance doesn't matter to me; you're still wonderful
Don't matter if you wear those fancy clothes
Your clothing or possessions don't make you special to me
Oh, it don't matter where you wanna go, I'll be with you
I'm willing to be with you wherever you want to go
Yes, I do, yes, I love you
I want to commit to being with you and let you know how much I care
And you, you, you, you've got what it takes
You possess the qualities and abilities that I desire and need
Oh, baby, oh you, you, you, you've got what, what it takes there
I believe you have what it takes to make me happy and be with me forever
Baby, baby, baby, you've got what it takes
You have the qualities and abilities that make you perfect for me
Really something special about you, really something special about you Oh, oh, oh yeah
You have something unique and special about you that I deeply value
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clyde Otis, Murray Stein
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind