By Sam Jemielity WHO IS SHE?:
This hugely talented, eye-poppingly sexy 28-year-old Canadian is R&B's hottest rising star. WHAT HAS SHE DONE?:
Her sultry single Nobody's Supposed To Be Here -- off 1998's platinum One Wish -- spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B charts. And then there's the off-the-charts sex appeal of the video Up & Down (In & Out), the first single off her just-released third album The Morning After. WHY DO WE CARE?:
Her amazing voice hits all the right notes in her bedroom ballads, and she's refreshingly down-to-earth. It's plain and simple: There's nothing sexier than Cox! Er, that came out wrong.
Playboy.com: Did immature losers ever make jokes about your name?
Deborah Cox: Oh, yes! It was horrible. And people to this day ask me if I changed my name for professional reasons, and I say, "Why would I?" If I had a normal name like Smith, why would I change it to Cox? That would not be my first choice of names. Growing up, they were horrible, the things that they would come up with. So now, if anybody tries to say anything about my name, I say, make it original because I've heard everything in the book!
Listen to Up & Down (In & Out)
PB: You started out singing for commercials. Do you remember any of the products you sang for?
DC: My first commercial jingle was for Marvelous Muffins. I did another one for Mazda. I did one for Stouffer's. Do they have Stouffer's out here?
PB: Oh, yeah, we live on that. You were a backup singer for Celine Dion. What did that teach you about how to be a diva?
DC: She really treated her whole camp, her band, her backup singers very well. I remember saying to myself, if I ever get into the position, I would love to have my organization run like this. You'd get your per diem checks on time, you'd get payment on time. You were treated with respect.
PB: What are your most diva-like habits?
DC: I don't find myself in situations where people are bowing down to me. That doesn't happen. I don't really get caught up in the whole diva-dom.
PB: Be honest: Did you ever ask anybody to bow down, even once? A friend or something?
