As she anticipates the release of One Wish, her long-awaited second album, Deborah Cox recalls the excitement of her first meeting with Clive Davis back in 1993. He would become her Executive Producer the following year, but the memory of that first meeting still has a special place in her heart. "He played our demo and told us [Deborah and her writing partner, Lascelles Stephens] what he thought about our songs. Then he began to give us very specific pointers - 'There's got to be some kind of strong hook within the lyric,' for example, 'more than just a catchy melody.' He spoke about winning song structure, where the chorus ends the song to the fade, little things like that. Big things! We were very, very open to criticism, and this was good criticism. It was the first time someone had taken the time, and we felt honored."

As a result, not only did "Where Do We Go From Here" from that original demo make it onto Deborah's self-titled Arista debut album, but she and Lascelles also contributed three more tunes of their own. That's a pretty fair rookie batting average on a disc dominated by compositions from such major league writers and producers as Babyface, Daryl Simmons, Dallas Austin and others. For her efforts, Deborah was rewarded with a string of R&B-pop crossovers - "Sentimental," "Who Do U Love," "Where Do We Go From Here" and "The Sound Of My Tears" - that kept her on the charts (and on the road, doing concerts with the likes of Keith Sweat) from late-Summer '95 until early '97. Her album was certified gold by the RIAA. Deborah's hit chart run extended even further when Arista issued her single of "Things Just Ain't The Same" (produced by Atlanta's Mass Avenue team), from the RIAA gold Money Talks movie soundtrack.

The first track to be recorded for One Wish last year was "One Day You Will," written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. Then there's "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," a song co-written by Montell Jordan and his musical director Shep Crawford. Its gospel flavor and Crawford's "straight outta church piano" gave it a live feel, "like it was recorded in concert," Deborah says. "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" was the perfect fit. Not only was it chosen as the first single release from One Wish, but it will be included in a bonus dance mix version, courtesy of New York DJ Hex Hector. The second track that Deborah cut with Montell was Crawford's "We Can't Be Friends," a duet with R.L. from Next which she describes as "a beautiful ballad with an 'Endless Love' feeling. It's an R&B ballad that's reminiscent of the classic duets from back in the day."

Deborah steps into hip hop with "September," a song she wrote with New York producer Stevie J (of Bad Boy) and Gordon Chambers. Similarly, "It's Over Now" was written and produced by Kay-Gee of Naughty By Nature, his first production outside of Next. "It's a real different element," Deborah states. "People aren't even gonna believe that it's me."

The title track of the album, "One Wish," was produced by DJ Quik and Deborah describes the track as a "party joint." Quik also raps on the track." Rodney Jerkins wrote and produced two tracks in Los Angeles, "I Never Knew" and "Just When I Think I'm Over You," which Deborah calls "a great uptempo record." Also crossing international lines is "I Won't Give Up" which Deborah and Lascelles wrote with Trina Powell (a Columbia artist). It takes Deborah back to her jazz roots, and was produced by Lascelles Stephens.

One Wish comes full circle with another Diane Warren song, "Couldn't We," produced in Atlanta and New York by Daryl Simmons; and Hex Hector's club remix of "Things Just Ain't the Same" (from Money Talks). As of this writing, the song reached # 1 and stayed on New York radio for over one year, "one of those rediscovered records that DJs started playing in the clubs and it just built up this buzz," Deborah says. "Now it's one of the hottest dance records around." Deborah was born in Canada to Guyanese parents with strong musical roots. An extremely shy youngster, she credits mom with her musical awakening. "I was six or seven when I heard Gladys Knight's 'Help Me Make It Through the Night.' My mother used to play that record all the time. Lou Rawls, Joe Tex, Al Green, those were the records my mom used to play. Also Bob Marley and Billie Holiday - but when I heard Gladys, that's what sparked interest for me."

Reared in the conservative Catholic school atmosphere, Deborah was interested in track and field, journalism and writing poetry, but music was her secret desire. After winning a local tv talent showcase at age 11, she began singing commercial jingles. This led to work with local bands and by age 15, she often found herself playing at gigs until 1:00 a.m. She was learning first-hand about management, promotion and the business. During the day at Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts, she was studying classical music and broadening her knowledge of jazz, moving from Billie Holiday to Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Brook Benton and others.

In 1989, Deborah hooked up with her high school friend, bassist and songwriter Lascelles Stephens. The partnership yielded the 4-song demo that he began pitching to record labels. Deborah was hired to sing backup with Celine Dion, but once Clive Davis and Arista came into view, Deborah left the tour to focus on her album. By mid-'95, sessions were completed in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Atlanta.

The whirlwind of touring and promotion of the last three years has taken Deborah throughout North America, playing such prestigious venues as the Fox Theatre in Detroit, the Apollo in Harlem and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angles, "like you're somebody if you perform in those places." She was nominated for Best New R&B Vocalist at the American Music Awards in 1997, and won back-to-back JUNO awards in Canada as Best R&B Female Artist for her self-titled debut album (in '96) and for "Things Just Ain't The Same" (in '97). There have been multiple promotion trips to Australia (where "Who Do U Love" is a Platinum seller) and Japan; as well as repeated trips to England, Germany and Holland.

"I couldn't ask for anything more," Deborah sums up. "It's been nothing but great blessings. This new album is a tremendous growth from the first one, I feel a lot more comfortable in my skin. People see that I have my own voice, my own opinion, my own likes. The album really reflects that."