"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 Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

issued the song as the second album's single 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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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 Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' 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, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

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 Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertai ...

's spare

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

mix, then forceful diva potential on David Morales' splashy pop/house interpretation. Pick a version of this cutie and slam it over and over." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' stated, "Another protegee of Arista president

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, this is a sure fire, future R&B star. Although way too long for radio (8:42), the Morales Classic Club Mix has that fast, perky Eurobeat which is much appreciated this side of the Atlantic."

Music video

The official music video 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), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...

and was filmed on the

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...

lot in Los Angeles. It consists of Cox confronting her boyfriend (portrayed by Flex Alexander) 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. The video features Nikki Pantenburg, Tish Oliver, Shawnette Heard, and Kelly Konno, all of whom were dancers for

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

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 mix) – 4:45 * UK, European, Australian, and Japanese 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 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 and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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 *

– 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