If It Wasn't For...Deborah Cox

When Deborah Cox serenaded celebrity A-Lister Mike Ruiz at the photographer's recent New York City birthday bash, her siren song cast a spell that moved the gathering of friends, colleagues, and Thursday night bar-hoppers to entirely new heights. After delightful performances by superstars Michelle Williams, formerly of Destiny's Child fame, Chris Willis, Ultra Nat� and Amanda Lepore, Cox culminated the perfect evening by presenting the birthday boy with his cake and melodically cooing an inexplicably perfect rendition of "Happy Birthday" .

You can imagine the room's hesitation when Deborah invited everyone to join in for a medley. Who could follow her act for fear of spoiling the moment? "That was a great party!" Cox is quick to remind me. But, I can't help but feel it is the first of a string of great parties already in the works for this gifted songstress.

The year 2012 is the beginning of many big things for Deborah Cox. To kick things off appropriately, she'll be joining DJ Tracy Young on stage to wow the crowd always willing to worship on the altar of Young at this year's Genesis event on New Year's Day at Mansion in Miami Beach. "I understand this party is a really highly-anticipated event." It will be the ninth in Tracy Young's successful series, and there is nary a quiver of anxiety in Cox's voice. "I haven't done a party in Miami over New Years in a while - it'll be nice to be there with Tracy to unveil this new remix that we've done."

Making Magic...

The track that Deborah Cox is referring to is her latest soon-to-be regaled club anthem "If It Wasn't For Love," a valentine of sorts dedicated to her fans. "The song encapsulates love in general," she shares. "It's a celebratory song - it defines how I feel about dance music and the audience that has given so much support over the years." Cox admits that the track is inspired by everyone who has stood by her, unconditionally - and for love. "I do music for the audience - for the music lovers, for the dance floor lovers - this is really a celebration of that. I wouldn't be here without them."

"I was searching so blindly...and you helped me to see; And love set my heart free...Love really saved me. Your love." - Deborah Cox "If It Wasn't For Love"

In true dance diva fashion, she had the single remixed by some of today's most gifted producers - "It's always a really fun process for me to hear other people's take of a song. So much magic comes back." - including Razor N Guido, DJ Scribble and the aforementioned Tracy Young, who, inspired by Cox's vocals on the original version, went into the studio and reworked the track. This is their first collaboration together.

"Tracy's version is so fierce." Cox, who is inherently involved in every aspect of her music, including the remix process, was thrilled with Young's reinvention for the dance floor. "It's edgy and still very reminiscent of the club days at Arena and Palladium...very New York. That's what I love about Tracy's version."

Cox is Non-Stop!

Within in the scope of her career, Cox has established herself as a dedicated dance floor diva able to turn out the anthems as easily as she hits her perfect notes. "I don't like going into a remix, just to do a remix. I have to challenge myself." And, challenged she has been at every turn.

With her incredibly gifted vocals, it was no surprise that when Deborah Cox debuted with her 1995 album, the soulful artist would be a match for any of the well-established R&B divas of the time. She would inevitably be compared to Whitney Houston who would later duet with Cox on the track "Same Script, Different Cast". However, Cox' fate was successfully sealed when she was introduced to her first remix production.

"Coming into this business I was just a girl who sang R&B music, and I didn't want to be pigeon-holed," Cox explains, "but I feel I've always had to be on the forefront and fight so that people can see me in a full spectrum through my music and my art."

Her single "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" became one of the most popular hits of her career, and enjoyed a long life as one of the flawless dance anthems on the club circuit. However, Deborah was out to command the club circuit crowd, and its predominantly gay followers embraced the artist as one of our own most dependable divas. "I'm a firm believer in connecting with the audience that loves and supports you," she says. "I always come back because they keep me inspired."

That inspiration is what is motivating Cox into what may become her career's most ambitious year. "I've been doing a lot of recording - finishing up a lot of the songs because I'm doing two records simultaneously." Cox is preparing to deliver two albums in 2012, each suited to her multi-faceted skill as a singer and her appeal to her diverse fan base. One will be profoundly R&B driven and full of soulful ballads; the other: "I want the dance album to be a non-stop party album."

Her New Role

She also will be stepping back into the spotlight and into a very iconic banana skirt when she sings and acts her way to realize the story of the legendary Josephine Baker on Broadway. "The role is so meaty, so intriguing - it's very high-energy, very emotional...and like nothing I've ever done before."

The stages on the Big White Way are no stranger to Deborah Cox, who made a spectacular splash of the lead role in "Aida". Josephine Baker's story will prove to have challenges all of its own for the devoted performer. "She was really passionate about people and about equality; hopefully I can give people a behind-the-scenes look at her life and her struggle...the life of this amazing woman who was a philanthropist and an activist. Because of her I didn't have to face a lot of the same tragic moments. It's a lot to live up to."

Then so is the talent of Deborah Cox, who has endured while many of her contemporaries have faded into the background and the music industry morphed into an entirely new animal. "It used to be about developing an artist and their sound," she elaborates, "and who they were so that you can build and audience and have longevity. The new radio audience has a short attention span - if something sticks...great! If not, they're on to the next thing."

Fortunately, Deborah Cox has always found a way to make things "stick" whether tapping into and strumming on our heartstrings, or kicking up the beat that drives the dance floor's rhythm.
"I'm moved by people. Whatever I sing is completely from the heart - it's got to make sense and be something that I feel." And we feel it too.