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 โ 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 โ 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.
Sentimental
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I never let it get into me
'Cause I didn't take you serious baby
Now to be without your love
Only makes me realize
What I could've had in you honey
Now that you're gone (oooooooh ooooh ooooh)
I said it slapped me in my face
And then my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I miss you day and night, seems like you're still here
I'd rather be together honey
Now that I'm lost for words
I can't believe I'm on my own
I should've been looking at love
Now that you're gone
I want you (oooh ooh oooh)
I said it slapped me on my face
And now my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
Now that you're gone I want you more
I said it slapped me on my face
And then my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
In "Sentimental," Deborah Cox expresses regret over not taking a past relationship seriously enough, and now that it's over, she realizes what she could have had. She acknowledges her own mistakes in the relationship, admitting to "messing around," but not letting it get to her. However, she now feels the loss of her love for the person and is going crazy and heartbroken without them. She can't stop thinking about the person, and the only time she gets sentimental is when she thinks about them.
The lyrics evoke a sense of longing and missed opportunities. Cox recognizes the significance of this lost relationship and wishes she had done things differently. She seems to be struggling with the decision to hold onto the past or move forward. The chorus emphasizes her feelings of loss and regret, as she repeats the sentiment that the only time she gets sentimental is when she thinks about the person she has lost. Overall, the song is a reflection on the pain of lost love and the difficulty of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to mess around
I used to play games with love
But I never let it get into me
I never let love affect me
'Cause I didn't take you serious baby
Because I didn't think you were serious
Now to be without your love
Now that I'm without your love
Only makes me realize
It makes me see
What I could've had in you honey
What I missed out on with you
Now that you're gone (oooooooh ooooh ooooh)
Now that you're not here
I want you more
I desire you more
I said it slapped me in my face
I said the realization hit me hard
And then my friends don't understand
And my friends don't comprehend
Because I had the chance
Because I had the opportunity
I don't know why
I don't understand why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
I'm becoming insane in confusion
And my heart ain't the same
My heart is not as strong
And I don't even think unless I think about you
I'm only able to think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the only time I become emotional
That's the reason why baby
That's why
I can't let go of you
I can't forget about you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
Yes, that's when I become emotional
I miss you day and night, seems like you're still here
I long for you all the time, it feels like you're still with me
I'd rather be together honey
I would prefer to be with you
Now that I'm lost for words
Now that I don't know what to say
I can't believe I'm on my own
I can't believe I'm by myself
I should've been looking at love
I should have been focused on love
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DALLAS L AUSTIN, DEBORAH COX, COLIN FITZROY WOLFE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sweetzluvs
I used to mess around
But I never let it get into me
'Cause I didn't take you serious baby
Now to be without your love
Only makes me realize
What I could've had in you honey
Now that you're gone (oooooooh ooooh ooooh)
I want you more
I said it slapped me in my face
And then my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I miss you day and night, seems like you're still here
I'd rather be together honey
Now that I'm lost for words
I can't believe I'm on my own
I should've been looking at love
Now that you're gone
I want you (oooh ooh oooh)
I said it slapped me on my face
And now my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
Now that you're gone I want you more
I said it slapped me on my face
And then my friends don't understand
Because I had the chance
I don't know why
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
I'm going crazy alone in a daze
And my heart ain't the same
And I don't even think unless I think about you
That's the only time I get sentimental
That's the reason why baby
I can't let go of you
Yeah, that's the only time I get sentimental
@levieenrose7646
No half naked singer, no soft porn dance moves, no auto tune, just real talent in this video.
Deborah Cox was so underrated. Her voice is amazing. 90s R n B was amazing.What the hell happened to music and artists?!
@xolisasukwinimangali6325
Illuminati took over ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
@theartistaprilinc
Smh
@natalietrudeaux1721
She's awesome. ..
@batcgray
Powerful singing voice!!! I had sentimental on repeat!!!!!
@gregstinnett3939
say it again please !!!! Prue talent! no fluff
@tajmonique1339
This whole album was a masterpiece. Every song from start to finish. Dad thank you for blessing me with this album at 16!!
@msmichelle2196
Clive Davis knows how to make hits
@seanjenkins331
I've always believed this is Deborah's best song. Incredible baseline and chorus
@1agelessbeauty
I absolutely agree. That bass is phenomenal beyond measure.