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.
Just Be Good to Me
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I'm wasting time with you
You'll never be mine
That's not the way I see it
'Cause I feel you're already mine
Whenever you're with me
People always talk about, reputation
Just be good to me
Friends are always tellin' me you're a user
I don't care 'bout your other girls
Just be good to me
You may have many others
But I know when you're with me
You are all mine
Friends seem to always listen
To the bad things that you do
You'll never do that to me, oh no
People always talk about, reputation
I don't care what you do to them
Just be good to me
Friends are always tellin' me you're a user
I don't care 'bout your other girls
Just be good to me
Life is a game of chances
So I'll take my chance with you
And you I won't try to change
We talk about it and I'd
Rather have a piece of you
Than to have all of nothing
So just be good to me in the morning time
Just be good to me, in the afternoon or evening
Just be good to me
I'm not the jealous type I won't let you down
When you need me, I'll be around
I'll be good to you, you'll be good to me
We will be together, be together
I'm not the jealous type I won't let you down
When you need me, I'll be around
I'll be good to you, you'll be good to me
We will be together, be together
In "Just Be Good to Me," Deborah Cox sings about how love can be complicated with outside opinions and reputations. Friends try to persuade her that the person she's with is not the right one for her because of their reputation as a user and player. However, the singer believes the opposite and feels that they have something special because when they're together, they feel like they're already together. The singer has been warned by friends about the player behavior of her love interest, but she maintains a positive attitude and hopes for the best. She wants him to treat her well despite having other love interests, stating that she only wants a piece of him rather than nothing. The chorus reiterates that the singer doesn't care about the player's reputation or other girls, as long as he is good to her.
The lyrics highlight the singer's desire to have a true personal connection with someone who even has a bad reputation. Cox's emotive delivery is what sells the song as the listener can feel her pain and the singer's commitment to making the relationship work. Throughout the song, the singer is asking her lover to be good to her not just in the morning, but at all times to build a lasting relationship between them.
Line by Line Meaning
Friends tell me I am crazy
My friends believe that I am foolish for loving you
That I'm wasting time with you
They think I am spending my time on someone who will not reciprocate
You'll never be mine
They do not believe that we will be together exclusively
That's not the way I see it
But I believe that we are already connected
'Cause I feel you're already mine
I sense that we have a deep connection whenever we are together
Whenever you're with me
I feel complete and content with you by my side
People always talk about, reputation
Others are constantly discussing what kind of person you are
I don't care what you do to them
However, I am not concerned with how you treat others
Just be good to me
All I ask is that you treat me with love and respect
Friends are always tellin' me you're a user
My friends warn me that you take advantage of women
I don't care 'bout your other girls
But I do not care about your past or current relationships
You may have many others
I am aware that you have been with other women
But I know when you're with me
But I can tell that you are fully present when we are together
You are all mine
I feel like we have a special connection that cannot be broken
Friends seem to always listen
My friends tend to focus on your negative qualities
To the bad things that you do
They criticize your actions and the way you treat others
You'll never do that to me, oh no
But I do not believe that you would treat me poorly
Life is a game of chances
Life is unpredictable and sometimes we must take risks
So I'll take my chance with you
So I choose to take a chance and pursue a relationship with you
And you I won't try to change
I accept you for who you are and will not try to change you
We talk about it and I'd
We communicate openly and honestly about our feelings
Rather have a piece of you
I would rather have a small part of you than nothing at all
Than to have all of nothing
I would rather have a little bit of your love than none at all
So just be good to me in the morning time
Please treat me with kindness and affection in the morning
Just be good to me, in the afternoon or evening
And also in the afternoons and evenings
I'm not the jealous type I won't let you down
I am not possessive or controlling, and I will not disappoint you
When you need me, I'll be around
I will always be there for you when you need me
I'll be good to you, you'll be good to me
We will both treat each other with respect and love
We will be together, be together
We will continue to be in a loving relationship together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: James Samuel Iii Harris, Terry Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind