Deborah Cox speaks to JustCircuit.mag's Joey Benitez for the February/March 2009 issue
Deborah Cox has done so much since she burst onto the music scene in 1995. From setting a Billboard record with "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (which spent fourteen weeks at #1 on the R&B chart) to starring on Broadway to performing all over the world at Circuit parties and Pride events, she is truly a DIVA and in the best sense of the word. Miss Cox has always been loyal to her dance following. Her third studio album, The Morning After, included Hex Hector's Chanel mix of "Absolutely Not" as well as the Hex-produced new track "Mr. Lonely." On top of that, there was a bonus disc with full remixes of "Mr. Lonely" and "Up and Down." In 2003, Deborah released a Remixed CD, which included many of her hits including a new single that was a cover of Phil Collins' "Something Happened On the Way To Heaven." In between recording her jazz album, Destination Moon and her fifth album, The Promise, Cox also released the dance single "House Is Not a Home" that went to #1 on the Billboard Dance Chart and became Deborah's ninth chart topper in only ten years. Her hits "Easy as Life" and "Everybody Dance" both later appeared in DJ Tony Moran compilations. The Promise provided the listener with amazing songs such as "Saying Goodbye" and "Beautiful U R" that will hopefully soon be transformed into dance floor anthems by the Circuit's Top DJs.
JC: I was SO EXCITED to see Perez Hilton throw you a major shout out and post "Beautiful U R." Not only did he mention you, but the Circuit. Was this something you knew about ahead of time or was it a pleasant surprise?
DC: The day Perez blogged about Beautiful U R, my phone was blowing up and my inbox was going crazy. This was a huge surprise. I really appreciate what he did.
JC: We all love "Beautiful U R". It has a great beat already and I can totally hear a remix in my head. My dream would be to have you reunite with Tony Moran and Hex Hector. The lyrics would translate perfectly to the dance floor. You wrote a lot of the songs on the new album and this track has a very personal feel so I'm assuming you were at least the co-writer; did anyone else work on the song?
DC: Yes, I co-wrote the song. There are other writers but the story is mine. I was going through some things and feeling crappy with a cold and not much of a voice. I wanted to put to words what was going on in my head.
JC: I know that your dance hits are usually R&B songs that get remixed, but the Morning After CD had "Mr. Lonely" as a straight up dance hit. Does the new album have any original dance songs or is it more ballads and R&B?
DC: The new album is ballads and R&B but with a wider range than what I’ve done in the past. I am currently working on some remixes.
JC: You are AMAZING live! Which one of your songs is hardest to sing in its remixed form? Which is the most fun to sing?
DC: Thanks for the compliment… The most challenging song to sing live is Mr. Lonely. The verses are really low and when I am performing, the adrenalin is pumping so it’s hard to hit those low notes. I have many that I love to sing but if I had to choose, I would say Absolutely Not.
JC: Purple Party in Dallas was the last time I've had the opportunity to see you live thanks to a little Hurricane called Gustav. The highlight of your Purple performance was definitely you bringing Shep Crawford along! Your singing some of "Same Script Different Cast" was something I will never forget! Shep has written some AMAZING songs like "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" and "Same Script" as well as some huge hits for Tamia like "Stranger in My House" and her newest dance hit, "Me." I recently saw a YouTube clip of you and Tamia singing "Same Script" but you sang the original Whitney Houston Part and Tamia sang yours--would you ever do another “diva duet” like that?
DC: I am always open to do another “diva duet”. It’s all about getting the right song. The song has to be an event not just a nice song.
JC: What's your most favorite memory of performing at a Circuit event? You've performed at all the biggies-which one really stood out to you? Is there anywhere you haven't performed that you'd love to perform?
DC: Wow, I've done some amazing parties! The one that sticks out the most for me was a Jeffery Sanker party in Palm Springs. The stage, the lights, the decorations, and the animals walking around on the stage; he designed a special stage for me that was incredible. The other one that sticks out is when I performed at Mardi Gras in Australia. I was performing on a floating stage that was carried across the arena by no less than twelve men. I felt like an Egyptian princess
JC: "Easy as Life" is one of my favorite dance songs of all time. I'd love to know the details of how you went from starring in Aida on Broadway to re-recording the song with Tony Moran and turning it into such a huge anthem. I'm particularly interested in how the additional lyrics in the chorus came to be. DISH!
DC: When we decided to do Easy As Life, Tony and I went over the lyrics and decided that the original lyrics wouldn’t work on the dance floor so I came up with the melody for the hook and Lascelles reached out to Tim Rice to inform him of the changes that we were considering. He loved the melody and understood exactly where we were trying to go with the new version. He then wrote some new lyrics. He flew in from London to go over everything with us and he approved all our changes with some minor comments. That’s it in a nutshell.
JC: Do you have a preference of happy love songs or love gone wrong?
DC: I don’t prefer one to the other but a sad song gives me more to work with emotionally.
JC: You've always been good about releasing CD Singles. With the explosion of MP3 format, do you still think it is important to release your mixes on CD single?
DC: Honestly, I try to focus on the creative and let others deal with the mechanics of the business. I do believe that there are those that would still like something tangible. The physical CDs won’t be with us for much longer but while it is still here, it provides an option.
JC: What's the story behind the Freemasons using your song "It's Over Now" on parts of their song "Watchin?"
DC: They originally used my vocals, but because of possible legalities it became a bootleg and they had it re-sung by another artist. That said, I love their work and hope to collaborate with them in the future.
JC: How do you feel about re-recording vocals in the studio for remixing purposes? What is that process like?
DC: Re-singing the songs for the remixes is essential for me. The energy is different, the feel, the tempo, everything is different. I think that it is the only way to make the experience authentic and my audience deserves that.
JC: Have you ever thought about re-releasing some of your older songs like "Who do u love" or "It could have been u" with new remixes?
DC: Yes, I have thought about it and it is something that I would like to get around to doing soon.
JC: You've tackled so many genres of music - R&B, dance, Broadway, jazz - do you have any other genres in your sites?
DC: I wish that we did not have to categorize music and that we could just appreciate it for what it is, MUSIC. I am really focused on what I am doing now with my new CD, The Promise, so I will need a little more time before I know what I’ll be tackling next.
