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.
The Morning After
Deborah Cox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause I already know what you're thinking, yeah
Things just got more complicated
But we can't fake it
This is real, so let's just go with it
[Chorus]
We became more than just friends
After the morning after
I let you in
What's the next move to make
The morning after
Hush, don't say a word
I can't even explain what I'm feeling
Feeling, lying next to you
Ooh feels so good
Don't let the words ruin the moment
Please don't say nothing
I know you might feel guilty babe
Don't let the mind do the speaking
Just let the heart do the leading
Cause we gave each other what we both wanted
Look what we've started
[Chorus]
Baby I can't help but see it
You gave me what I needed
There's no way that I can deny
I love you so
The longer that I'm with you
The more I see that I need you
Let's take what we have and make it last
Forever more
[Chorus: x 2]
In the song "The Morning After" by Deborah Cox, she speaks about a complex relationship that has gone beyond friendship. In the opening lines, she encourages her partner not to say a word because she already knows what they're thinking. They're both aware that things have gotten more complicated, but they can't fake the feelings they have for each other. She suggests that they go with the flow and take things as they come because what they have now is real.
The chorus speaks more directly to the situation they find themselves in. They have become more than just friends, but they're unsure of where to go from there. She wonders what their next move should be and how they should navigate what comes after the morning after.
The second verse is more introspective and takes a deeper look at the emotions involved. She can't even explain what she's feeling, but lying next to him feels so good. She pleads with him not to ruin the moment with words as she knows he may feel guilty. She encourages him to let his heart lead and not let his mind do the speaking. In the end, they both realize they gave each other what they wanted, and it's up to them to decide where to go from there.
Line by Line Meaning
Hush, don't say a word
Don't speak, there's no need to explain with words
Cause I already know what you're thinking, yeah
I understand your thoughts and feelings without you saying anything
Things just got more complicated
The situation has become more complex
But we can't fake it
We cannot pretend that our feelings aren't real
This is real, so let's just go with it
Our feelings are authentic, let's embrace them
We became more than just friends
Our relationship has evolved into something beyond friendship
Where do we go from here
What's the next step for us
After the morning after
After the night that we shared our intimacy
I let you in
I allowed myself to be vulnerable with you
What's the next move to make
What should we do next
Hush, don't say a word
Let's not speak right now
I can't even explain what I'm feeling
I'm unable to articulate how I feel
Feeling, lying next to you
I feel emotionally connected when I'm next to you
Ooh feels so good
It feels pleasurable
Don't let the words ruin the moment
Let's not ruin this experience with unnecessary dialogue
Please don't say nothing
Just don't speak at all, please
I know you might feel guilty babe
I understand if you're feeling guilty
Don't let the mind do the speaking
Let's not overthink this, just let things flow
Just let the heart do the leading
Let's follow our emotions and see where they take us
Cause we gave each other what we both wanted
We fulfilled each other's desires
Look what we've started
See how far we've come
Baby I can't help but see it
I can't deny my feelings for you
You gave me what I needed
You fulfilled my needs
There's no way that I can deny
I cannot pretend that I don't feel this way
I love you so
I have a deep affection for you
The longer that I'm with you
The more time I spend with you
The more I see that I need you
I realize that I am emotionally dependent on you
Let's take what we have and make it last
Let's nurture our relationship and make it durable
Forever more
For an indefinite period of time
Chorus: x 2
Repetition of the chorus
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHARLES BEREAL, CHARLES W BEREAL, DEBORAH COX, ETHAN FARMER, JOHNATA M AUSTIN, KENNETH BEREAL, KENNETH M. BEREAL, WARRYN CAMPBELL, Johnta Austin, Warren Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
longbranch11207
they dropped the ball on this one this would have made an amazing single
longbranch11207
No it wasn’t
reygirl1
This was a single.
Dina Marie
Yesssss Indeeddddd
Cowboys Lakers,Raptors 4 life
No doubt,
MrBlactye
It's such a blessing to have grown up during this era of great music. Thank You Lord for YouTube that we can still listening to great music.
Caramel Kisses
Yesssssss!!!
Bryan Alvareeezy
This is the type of song u play on a sunny and beautiful Sunday morning and feeling every fabric on your skin and sipping on some coffee
D J
@Caramel Kisses 😂😂😂
Caramel Kisses
Really? Can you explain why you feel this way?