{"id":45096,"date":"2026-04-08T21:02:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45096"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:02:36","slug":"deborah-cox-says-angela-bassett-wanted-her-for-whitney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45096","title":{"rendered":"Deborah Cox Says Angela Bassett Wanted Her For ‘Whitney’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Deborah Cox<\/strong> <\/a>is revealing how she ended up as \u201cthe voice\u201d of the legendary Whitney<\/strong> Houston<\/strong><\/a> in her 2015 biopic.<\/p>\n

During the Wednesday, April 8, episode of the \u201cWhat Matters with Liz\u201d<\/a> podcast with Woman\u2019s World<\/em><\/a> Editor-in-Chief, Liz<\/strong> Vaccariello<\/strong>, Cox, 51, recalled how director Angela<\/strong> Bassett<\/strong><\/a> reached out to her for the Lifetime Whitney Houston biographical film, Whitney<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the one that called me and said, \u2018I\u2019m working on this project. Would you sing the music?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Absolutely,\u2019\u201d Cox shared. \u201cThat was the only day that I had off \u2019cause I was on another project. So I literally flew from Miami to LA, recorded the songs, and we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a day we cut, like, six songs,\u201d Cox continued.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Angela Bassett Recalls Filming ‘Waiting to Exhale’ 30 Years Later<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tWaiting to Exhale turns 30 this year, and Angela Bassett has nothing but fond memories of filming the beloved rom-com. \u201cWaiting to Exhale, four incredible women, an incredible time in a very, very hot place,\u201d Bassett, 66, recalled while chatting exclusively with Us Weekly at the New York City premiere of her new miniseries, Zero [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Cox also shared how hands-on Bassett was during the filming process.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder her direction, she was just like, \u2018This is the moment. This is what\u2019s happening,\u2019\u201d Cox said of Bassett, 67, explaining the plot to her during big musical moments like \u201cI\u2019m Every Woman\u201d or \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u2019\u201d adding that the goal was to nail the \u201cessence\u201d of Houston\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think, as a performer, you find little areas of a person\u2019s voice that really resonate with you and that\u2019s what\u2019s inspired me all these years,\u201d Cox explained.<\/p>\n

Cox said she knew \u201cvery early on\u201d that singing was what she was meant to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew when I was singing along to songs on the radio, commercial jingles. I had an affinity for melodies. You know, certain things would just stick with me,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

Some of her early influences included Billie<\/strong> Holiday<\/strong>, Gladys<\/strong> Knight<\/strong>, Aretha<\/strong> Franklin<\/strong> <\/a>and Dinah<\/strong> Washington<\/strong>, all of whom her mother would play in the house as she was growing up. Cox discovered Houston later in life, and knew that she \u201cwanted music to be a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1994, Cox signed with Clive<\/strong> Davis<\/strong>, the famed award-winning producer and music executive who shaped careers of artists like Janis<\/strong> Joplin<\/strong>, Aretha<\/strong> Franklin<\/strong>, Alicia<\/strong> Keys<\/strong><\/a> and Houston. In 2000, Houston and Cox collaborated on the duet \u201cSame Script, Different Cast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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