Deborah Cox Lets Inhibitions Go on ‘The Promise’

Six years after her last studio album, Deborah Cox is releasing her latest project, 'The Promise,' which is in stores today. And the singer, who made a name for herself with her ballad-turned-pop-dance hit 'Nobody's Supposed to Be Here,' is taking a different approach on this record. Cox's goal for the album's first single, 'Did You Ever Love Me,' was to give fans something unexpected, so she did not come out with an up-tempo number. After all, she has had nine No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Dance chart.

"I thought 'Did You Ever Love Me' was such a different-sounding record -- the production, the vibe of it, that old school-orchestrated sound," Cox told the BoomBox. "I feel like songs like that are slower to grow, but the more you hear it, the more you want to hear it. I felt that would be a good one to lead with."

Perhaps the most striking number on the album is 'All Over Me,' a ballad Cox, a one time back-up singer for Celine Dion, called "sexy."

"I've never heard a singer-singer do a ballad like that," Cox explained. "When I told Terry (Lewis, producer) and Big Jim (Wright, producer) that I wanted to record a vibe like that, they were like, 'OK. You have to make sure you sing. You can't whisper it. People still want to hear your voice.'

"So I had to become uninhibited because I tend to be very shy when it comes to real sexy or intimate style songs. I just kind of stripped myself down and came up with the lyrics. They put the music around it and that was it. That one is a special one. I delve in a whole arena that I've never dealt with before."

The album is named after a John Legend-penned song that she performs on the record. Cox explained she enjoys Legend's more acoustic side; songs that are simple with just a voice and piano. That's what turned her on to "The Promise."

"For some reason, when I heard that song, I noticed it was really hopeful," said Cox, who is aiming to tour in March or April. "The title gives the sentiment of commitment. I felt the song really represented where I am in my life today. I'm in a committed relationship. I'm a mother. There's so many things on a personal level that have changed. I feel that song really exemplified that.

"It's almost like a lullaby that you could sing to a loved one or sing to a child. It really describes the feeling of where I am right now."