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.
New Blowtop Blues
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're the first to know
Yes I've got bad news baby,
And you're the first to know
Well I discovered this morning that my wig is about to blow
Well I've been rocking on my feet
Ad I've been talking all out of my head
And I've been talking all out of my head
And when I get through talking, I can't
remember a thing I've said
Now I used to be a sharpie
All dressed in the latest style
But now I'm walking down Broadway
Wearing nothing but a smile
I see all kinds of little men
Although they're never there
I tried to push a subway train
And poured whiskey in my hair
I'm a gal who blew a fuse, I've got those blowtop blues
Last night I was five feet tall, Today I'm eight feet ten
Every time I fall downstairs, I float right up again
When somebody turned the lights on me it like to drove me blind
I woke up this morning in Bellevue but I've left my mind behind
I'm a gal you can't excuse, 'cause I've got those blowtop blues
Well I got high last night, and I took my
man to his wife's front door
Yes, yes I got juiced last night and I took
my man to his wife's front door
She was a 45-packin' mama, and I ain't goin' to try that no more!
The song "New Blowtop Blues" by Deborah Cox is a blues tune that speaks about the woes of living life with reckless abandon and the consequences of substance abuse. In the first verse, the singer tells someone that they have bad news and the first to know that her wig is about to blow. This line is a metaphor for the fact that the singer is about to experience a mental breakdown due to years of substance abuse.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how she's been "rocking on (her) feet" and "talking all out of (her) head." These are symptoms of substance abuse that often lead people to have temporary bouts of amnesia. The third verse describes how the singer used to be a "sharpie" but now only wears a smile while walking down Broadway. She sees little men and tries to push a subway train, which further highlights her delusional state.
The final verse talks about how the singer got high and took her man to his wife's front door, but she never wants to try that again as the wife was armed. The song is a representation of the struggles people go through while abusing drugs and alcohol, and how it ultimately leads to a life of delusion and mental health problems.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got bad news baby,
Deborah is informing her partner that something is wrong
And you're the first to know
She is telling her partner that they are the first person she is informing about the problem
Yes I've got bad news baby,
Deborah reiterates that there is some bad news to convey
And you're the first to know
She once again clarifies that her partner is the first person she is sharing this news with
Well I discovered this morning that my wig is about to blow
Deborah found out that something is about to go wrong and is using the metaphor of a wig to describe it
Well I've been rocking on my feet
Deborah is describing her unsteady state of mind and body
Ad I've been talking all out of my head
She is saying that she has been speaking without thinking much about what she is saying
And when I get through talking, I can't remember a thing I've said
Deborah is having trouble recalling the words she has been uttering
Now I used to be a sharpie
Deborah is implying that she used to be smart and stylish
All dressed in the latest style
She is reminiscing about her fashionable past
But now I'm walking down Broadway
Deborah is describing her current state in detail
Wearing nothing but a smile
She is implying that she is currently in a state of undress, possibly indicating that she has lost her mind
I see all kinds of little men
Deborah is hallucinating or experiencing delusions
Although they're never there
She is observing things that don't exist in reality
I tried to push a subway train
Deborah is describing an impossible or irrational action, thereby conveying her madness
And poured whiskey in my hair
She is saying that she has been behaving uncharacteristically
I'm a gal who blew a fuse, I've got those blowtop blues
Deborah is referring to herself as someone who has gone mad
Last night I was five feet tall, Today I'm eight feet ten
Deborah is describing the unrealistic and fluctuating nature of her thoughts
Every time I fall downstairs, I float right up again
She is saying that she is defying laws of physics or experiencing delusions
When somebody turned the lights on me it like to drove me blind
A sudden change in circumstances renders Deborah incapable of coping with it
I woke up this morning in Bellevue but I've left my mind behind
Deborah is saying that she has lost her sanity and is in a hospital for the mentally ill
I'm a gal you can't excuse, 'cause I've got those blowtop blues
She owns up to her own madness and implies that it is inexcusable
Well I got high last night, and I took my man to his wife's front door
Deborah is describing a regrettable incident from her past
Yes, yes I got juiced last night and I took my man to his wife's front door
She is repeating the same situation to emphasize her own guilt
She was a 45-packin' mama, and I ain't goin' to try that no more!
Deborah is saying that she learned her lesson and won't try to interfere with someone else's relationship again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind