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.
I Won't Give Up
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause what I'm feeling, it's gonna show
Friends may say you're out of my league
But I won't be discouraged
'Cause they just can't see
I won't give up that easy
No matter how they tease me
I won't give up that easy
'Cause this feels so good to me
I get this feeling every time you come 'round
Who'd have thought that it would be you
To steal my heart and make me feel the way I do
Now all this time, you've been just a friend
You see, they think I'm crazy to want you for my man
There's no way to explain
What I'm going through
All I know is I'm in love with you
I won't give up that easy
No matter how they tease me
You pick me up and I don't wanna come down
I won't give up that easy
'Cause this feels so good to me
I get this feeling every time you come 'round
Don't wanna be without you
'Cause every time I think about you
I feel like I'm going crazy out of my head
I just wanna figure out
How I can go about
Making you feel the same
I won't give up that easy
No matter how they tease me
You pick me up and I don't wanna come down
I won't give up that easy
'Cause this feels so good to me
I get this feeling every time you come 'round
"I Won't Give Up" by Deborah Cox is a song about unrequited love and the determination to pursue a relationship despite what others may say. The lyrics describe the singer's feelings for someone who they consider to be out of their league, but they refuse to give up. The singer's friends may think they're crazy for wanting this person, but the feeling of love is so strong that they can't ignore it.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I won't give up that easy" as a way of emphasizing the singer's determination to pursue this love interest. The singer is willing to withstand teasing and criticism from their friends and any other obstacles that may arise in their pursuit of this person. The singer also expresses that just being in the presence of this person brings a feeling of joy and love.
The song's bridge expresses the singer's desperation in wanting to be with this person. They cannot explain the intense emotions they're feeling and just want the other person to feel the same way. The song ends with the repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the singer's unwavering desire to pursue this love interest.
Overall, "I Won't Give Up" is a relatable song about the struggles of pursuing someone you love, even when others may not see it as a viable option. The lyrics express the singer's determination to fight for what they want, despite the obstacles in their way.
Line by Line Meaning
Either way, you're gonna know
My deep feelings for you will eventually show, no matter what.
'Cause what I'm feeling, it's gonna show
There's no hiding my emotions; they'll reveal themselves in time.
Friends may say you're out of my league
People close to me might believe that you're too good for me.
But I won't be discouraged
I won't let their opinions discourage me from pursuing you.
'Cause they just can't see
My friends don't understand what I see in you, but that's okay.
I won't give up that easy
I won't give up pursuing you easily or quickly.
No matter how they tease me
Despite any teasing or ridicule I may receive for loving you, I won't stop.
You pick me up and I don't wanna come down
When I'm with you, I feel elated and don't want that feeling to end.
'Cause this feels so good to me
I love the way being with you feels, and won't let go of that easily.
I get this feeling every time you come 'round
Every time I'm around you, I feel an intense, positive emotion.
Who'd have thought that it would be you
I never expected to fall in love with you.
To steal my heart and make me feel the way I do
You've captured my heart and make me feel emotions I didn't know were possible.
Now all this time, you've been just a friend
For a while, you were just a friend to me.
You see, they think I'm crazy to want you for my man
My friends believe my desire to be with you is irrational and foolish.
There's no way to explain
I can't put into words how I feel about you.
What I'm going through
The emotions and experiences I'm having right now because of you.
All I know is I'm in love with you
The one thing I'm sure of is that I'm deeply in love with you.
Don't wanna be without you
I can't imagine my life without you in it.
'Cause every time I think about you
Thoughts of you consume my mind.
I feel like I'm going crazy out of my head
My love for you is so intense that it makes me feel like I'm losing my mind.
I just wanna figure out
I want to understand how to make you feel the same way about me.
How I can go about
The way I should pursue this relationship with you.
Making you feel the same
Helping you see how much I love and care for you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEBORAH COX, TRINA POWELL, LASCELLES STEPHENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind