"Who Do U Love" is a song performed by Canadian singer
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...
. It was written and produced by Larry "Rock" Campbell and Vassal Benford for her
self-titled debut studio album (1995).
Arista Records issued the song as the second album's
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
in January 1996. "Who Do U Love" peaked at number 17 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was Cox's first number-one hit on the ''
Billboard''
Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the single reached number two in New Zealand, number 11 in Australia, number 15 in Canada, and number 31 in the United Kingdom. The song is certified platinum in New Zealand and gold in Australia.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from ''
Billboard'' wrote, "Cox comes on with another winning single that coasts on the fuel of a sleek jeep funk groove and a sing-along chorus. Comparisons to labelmate
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
may continue, but Cox goes a long way toward proving that she has her own special style that stands alone. Over the course of the single's four nicely varied versions, she displays different parts of her personality and vocal palette. Most notably, she shows a sassy edge on
Chucky Thompson
Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer.
Biography
Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's " Hitmen" team of in-ho ...
's spare
hip-hop mix, then forceful diva potential on
David Morales
David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer.
David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including ...
' splashy
pop/house interpretation. Pick a version of this cutie and slam it over and over."
Music video
The official
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the song was directed by
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, '' The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several film ...
and was filmed on the
Paramount Studios
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...
lot in Los Angeles.
It consists of Cox confronting her boyfriend (portrayed by
Flex Alexander
Mark Alexander Knox (born April 15, 1970), better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer. He has had a lot of guest-starring roles on many television sitcoms before portraying single father Flex Washington on ...
) for being unfaithful. It begins with Cox in her apartment, being confronted by her friends, who claim that Cox's boyfriend ("Flex") was out and cheating on her the night before. Cox denies it at first, until she hears her boyfriend outside her apartment with his friends. She tries to confront him, but he quickly gets defensive, so Cox's replies "Forget You". Walking down the fire escape with her friends, Cox begins to sing and dance in sync with her friends, as she walks away from Flex. Throughout, he keeps trying to win her back, but in the end, Cox refuses Flex's hand and walks away. The video ends with Flex miming "Damn!".
The dancing in the music video was choreographered by
Tina Landon
Tina Landon (born January 6, 1963) is an American choreographer based in Los Angeles who has worked with Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Janet Jack ...
. The video features Nikki Pantenburg, Tish Oliver, Shawnette Heard, and Kelly Konno, all of whom were dancers for
Janet Jackson during her ''
janet.'' era. Landon, herself, who also was Jackson's choreographer at the time, is amongst the background dancers in the video, and can be seen in the last dance sequence of the video.
Track listings
* US CD and cassette single
# "Who Do U Love" (Gass mix) – 4:26
# "Who Do U Love" (
Morales
Morales is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alfredo Morales (born 1990), American footballer
* Alvaro Morales (disambiguation), several people
* Amado Morales (born 1947), Puerto Rican javelin thrower
* Bartolomé Mo ...
mix) – 4:45
* UK, European and Australian CD single
# "Who Do U Love" (radio edit) – 3:59
# "Who Do U Love" (Morales classic club mix) – 8:42
# "Who Do U Love" (
Driza Bone
DRIZABONE is an international dance music / remixing musical group, led by record producer, musician and songwriter Vincent Garcia. Garcia used various female vocalists to provide the vocal element to his output. Driza Bone (sometimes billed as D ...
remix) – 4:08
# "Who Do U Love" (Gass mix) – 3:59
# "Who Do U Love" (Driza Bone extended mix) – 5:10
# "Who Do U Love" (Morales Down Low dub) – 6:11
Credits and personnel
Credits are taken from the US CD single liner notes.
Studios
* Recorded at Palm Tree Studios (
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, US) and Battery Studios (New York City)
* Mixed at Palm Tree Studios (North Hollywood, California, US)
Personnel
* Deborah Cox – vocals, background vocals
* Larry "Rock" Campbell – writing, production, arrangement
* Vassal Benford – writing, additional production
* Chris Trevett – recording
* Ara Darakjian – recording
* Victor Flores – recording, mixing
* Jon Gass – remixing
* Fred Kelly – remixing assistant
*
Clive Davis – executive production
* Christopher Stern – art direction
* Ken Banks – photography
* Carlton Jones – styling
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1995 singles
1995 songs
1996 singles
Arista Records singles
Deborah Cox songs
Music videos directed by Brett Ratner
Songs written by Vassal Benford