Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 3, 2018 18:15:36 GMT -5
I feel like when people speak about R&B divas of the nineties, they only mention Toni B., Brandy N., Monica, Mariah Carey, Janet, Aaliyah, Adina Howard, and everyone forgets Deborah Cox.
Was it her image? The material? Age? What held her back from being big and mentioned?
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Post by SHOOTER on Aug 3, 2018 18:42:50 GMT -5
Who is mentioning Adina besides George?  |
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mkarns
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Post by mkarns on Aug 3, 2018 18:57:09 GMT -5
Who is mentioning Adina besides George? I think Adina is more likely to be mentioned in regards to one hit wonders of the 90s than R&B divas, though she has had a number of interesting career activities since, from acting as well as singing to becoming a Le Cordon Bleu certified chef and now is said to be writing a self-help book. Deborah Cox only has a few widely remembered hits, most notably "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here", as well as "Sentimental" and "We Can't Be Friends". I guess not enough hits and not enough of a distinct personality for most to remember her otherwise? |
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divasummer
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Post by divasummer on Aug 3, 2018 19:18:38 GMT -5
I feel like when people speak about R&B divas of the nineties, they only mention Toni B., Brandy N., Monica, Mariah Carey, Janet, Aaliyah, Adina Howard, and everyone forgets Deborah Cox. Was it her image? The material? Age? What held her back from being big and mentioned? Maybe she was just a little to RnB??? When she debuted in 95 she was only 21 I believe but kind of seemed older so maybe it was image some? Wasn't it said they were trying to mold her after Whitney in a lot of ways? Whitney was having a little trouble then getting immediate hits as well. I loved a lot of Deborah's debut. "Where Do We Go From Here and My First Night Without You" were favorites of mine. I don't know why "Where Do We Go From Here" wasn't a hit (was it released)? Maybe she belted to much??? I also loved "Who Do You Love" and enjoyed "Sentimental" as well. I'm still a fan of hers and have purchased a lot of her current as well as older music through out the years. |
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 3, 2018 19:26:36 GMT -5
divasummer I don’t know if she was too R&B considering her biggest hit was a dance mix for “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here”. I remember many people mistook her for Ru Paul, I think it might have been difficult for her to carve out her own identity, kind of like Mindy Moore or Willa F.
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 3, 2018 19:28:50 GMT -5
I can see the Adina Howard 1 hit wonder angle, but even so, she is mentioned much much more than D. Cox, especially here.
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mkarns
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Post by mkarns on Aug 3, 2018 19:38:40 GMT -5
divasummer I don’t know if she was too R&B considering her biggest hit was a dance mix for “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here”. I remember many people mistook her for Ru Paul, I think it might have been difficult for her to carve out her own identity, kind of like Mindy Moore. Mandy Moore? She kind of did get lost in the late 90s/early 2000s teen pop shuffle, when she had a few hits but didn't really break out in a big way even when she changed up her sound to be less bubblegummy. Of course, her acting career has since made her a much bigger star. |
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Post by 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 on Aug 3, 2018 19:58:29 GMT -5
As one of her biggest fans, I think she's highly underrated. She's definitely one of the strongest vocalists out there right now. I think the fact that she did not have that many big hits could be a reason for why she isn't remembered as much, however, those that do still regard her highly. While I did like her albums on Arista, I do think that some of the material was not the greatest. It wasn't bad but, it wasn't very exciting as a whole. Generally the singles were the strongest material that she put out during that time. I think that after Deborah had her family, she stopped caring as much about commercial and chart success. She has gone into doing theater and other types of work and as an independent artist now, she releases music on her own terms. I do not think Deborah's image was what hindered her from success either. Her image was a little more conservative, however in that documentary that aired on the WE network a few months back, she had talked about how when she was on Arista, Clive Davis respected the fact that she didn't want to dress too sexy or provocatively at that time the way some of the other artists out at the time were because she wasn't comfortable then.
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 3, 2018 20:57:44 GMT -5
Most R&B Divas are more or less considered gay icons (except Brandy).
Do you guys think Deborah is *more so* considered a gay icon than the others? She’s fairly popular in the gay community, but outside of that? Not really.
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Post by wavey. on Aug 3, 2018 21:26:18 GMT -5
To re do Whitney's songs for the lil TV movies and doing Broadway(I think), shes definitely known, but more lowkey? Who is mentioning Adina besides George? You know what. |
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Gekkouga
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Post by Gekkouga on Aug 3, 2018 23:24:24 GMT -5
Nice voice, but that's... that.
Just like Whit :kii:
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stunnedout
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Post by stunnedout on Aug 4, 2018 8:45:04 GMT -5
Deborah cox is definitely more well known and respected than Adina Howard. What. in. The. World?
I think Deborah is very well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the black community. She has classic hits. sentimental, We cant be friends and how did you get here. She just wasn't as successful as a Toni Braxton or Whitney Houston because she didnt have the pop leaning ballads.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2018 9:17:14 GMT -5
All I know is girl had some fierce club mixes of her hits and I was here for every last one of them. Hex Hector turned her OUT.
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divasummer
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Post by divasummer on Aug 4, 2018 16:06:31 GMT -5
divasummer I don’t know if she was too R&B considering her biggest hit was a dance mix for “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here”. I remember many people mistook her for Ru Paul, I think it might have been difficult for her to carve out her own identity, kind of like Mindy Moore or Willa F. I felt like the Dance mix of "Nobodys Supposed To Be Here" was just as huge as the original as well but I was going to clubs ALL the time then. We also had a radio station at the time in my area that played lots of dance music as well. It only peaked around num.32 on billboards Top 40 radio chart. I'm not sure if Rythmic played both the dance and original version it peaked at num.12 but it was num.1 on the RnB chart for 14 weeks. I guess it depends who you ask which version is bigger the dance mix or original. |
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bat1990
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Post by bat1990 on Aug 4, 2018 16:14:23 GMT -5
I was thinking about Deborah Cox the other day, and her primary markets have never really shifted. It's always been Dance and Urban AC. It was just easier to get Urban AC crossover hits with major label backing when she released her first two albums in the 90s.
I think people do remember her once given clues, but she was kinda faceless in a lot of ways by not appearing on every screen and magazine, especially with the Teen Pop takeover happening at roughly the same time.
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Aug 4, 2018 17:00:17 GMT -5
She was always in the shadow of Jennifer Aniston. I actually enjoyed Cougar Town.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2018 19:50:25 GMT -5
You can have a beautiful house but if you don't upkeep it and dust it then it's not gonna last. Deborah hasn't put herself upfront and on our TV screens, awards shows, or any other form of media.
She is talented but this fickle industry we need to see you and be reminded of what you have done. Just like Tamia and countless others who made an impact. It's just that others made a bigger impact and are still out here promoting their legacy.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2018 19:54:46 GMT -5
She also does a wonderful drag night impersonation of "It's Not Right But it's Okay" honey I use to get my life in the clubs back in the day!
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Post by collegedropout on Aug 6, 2018 9:46:50 GMT -5
A lot of these r&b girls are pretty much the same so had to fight for the songs. Most of the good ones went to Whitney first, Toni second.
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 6, 2018 10:38:31 GMT -5
Just like Tamia and countless others who made an impact. Out of curiosity, what impact did Tamia make? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 10:59:22 GMT -5
A lot of these r&b girls are pretty much the same so had to fight for the songs. Most of the good ones went to Whitney first, Toni second. Did someone say that? Clive Davis? Interesting point. Anyway, I think she is respected by those who like r'n'b of the 90's or club remixes |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 11:20:16 GMT -5
She had a handful of hits over a period of a few years. It’s no surprise she’s largely forgotten. She did cultivate a respectable following in gay clubs, which has helped her avoid falling into complete obscurity.
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Post by collegedropout on Aug 6, 2018 11:33:53 GMT -5
A lot of these r&b girls are pretty much the same so had to fight for the songs. Most of the good ones went to Whitney first, Toni second. Did someone say that? Clive Davis? Interesting point. Anyway, I think she is respected by those who like r'n'b of the 90's or club remixes No it's just speculation. Most of these r&b girls don't write a lot of their music and there is only so many good songs to choose from. Whitney pretty much ushered in these girls but by the time their 2nd or 3rd albums came out r&b had continued its transition into more contemporary sound. A lot of these girls didn't transition with it. |
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on Aug 6, 2018 12:47:18 GMT -5
Isn't she in the top-10 of artists with the most #1 dance hits? That counts for something; not much but something.
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bat1990
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Post by bat1990 on Aug 6, 2018 13:04:16 GMT -5
Isn't she in the top-10 of artists with the most #1 dance hits? That counts for something; not much but something. Her and Kristine W. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 14:19:56 GMT -5
Just like Tamia and countless others who made an impact. Out of curiosity, what impact did Tamia make? Bitch she was the SHIT! Allahu Akbar she was stunning |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 14:26:37 GMT -5
I dunno if it's because they are Canadian and use to come on every rnb spot on MuchMusic but both of these ladies have a special place in my heart from them days!
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 6, 2018 14:32:49 GMT -5
it's because they are Canadian I think we may have found our answer!!  |
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Relaxing Cup
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Post by Relaxing Cup on Aug 6, 2018 14:33:48 GMT -5
I liked "Officially Missing You" by Tamya but that's about it. "Into You" was done much much better with Ashanti's vocals on the hook of the fabolous song.
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Post by collegedropout on Aug 6, 2018 21:01:25 GMT -5
"Into You" was done much much better with Ashanti's vocals on the hook of the fabolous song. That is incorrect |
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Heavy on the unless.
