Diva Divo - Dance Magazine

It's Saturday, December 29, and Deborah Cox is working a Boston stage like her own personal runway. Amidst the flash of cell phone cameras (and a few real ones, too) and to the beat of her own thumping club hits, Cox struts and wails as she helps ring in the New Year for a packed crowd of several thousand clubbers.

And though she's already established herself as one of the biggest divas in the dance world, she has grand plans as she turns the next page on her career calendar."

"2007 was a good year for me," reflects Deborah. "And 2008 holds even more in store."

For most, New Year's resolutions like that are just empty self-promises; wishful thinking that's abandoned by the time a champagne hangover clears. But when you're Deborah Cox – club chanteuse, R&B legend, jazz ingénue, Broadway actress, and perennial club favorite all rolled in one – there's good reason to set your goals high.

Cox is hot off the heels of her latest club single, "Everybody Dance (Clap Your Hands)." "Tony Moran came to me with this track," says Cox of the legendary DJ/Producer. "I took to it right away. It's one of those feel-good tracks that makes you want to get up out of your seat and get your groove on!"

The infectious cover of a disco classic is the most recent example of how Cox - who originally arrived on the scene in the mid-90s as an R&B artist in the vein of Whitney and Mariah - has married her powerful voice with equally strong beats. Previous club hits like "Absolutely Not," "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," "Mr. Lonely," and "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," have earned her a loyal following across genres, with Cox expanding her fan base and achieving a level of crossover success that has eluded other divas.

"Thank you for showing me some love tonight!" Deborah yells to the Boston crowd, putting her hand out to reach those on the dance floor. "Peace and Love!" she proclaims, clapping her own hands overhead and rallying her fans to take a positive approach in 2008.

"The clubs shows are great," says Deborah, who is able to contrast her performance experience across multiple styles of music. "There's such a different energy in the crowd. That's the energy that I'm feeding off of, and it's a feeling that can't be paralleled."