The year was 1996. A year I’ve detailed here, here, and here as an unequaled favorite. So much so that I’m beginning to think I need a sister blog dedicated to only songs released that year. And I’m fairly certain it would outperform this current version.

Anyway, today’s nostalgia commentary has been set aside for “Who Do U Love,” the Rhythm & Pop jam from singer-songwriter Deborah Cox. The second single off of her debut Deborah Cox, this midtempo viber finds the Canadian agonizing over lost love only to realize it’s not that difficult to start over. As a hopelessly reticent twelve year old boy, I could obviously relate. Being real, I just liked the poppy yet fiery flow and the vaunted visuals. As any mid-90’s paperboy would do, I remember waking up at the ass-crack of dawn, stumbling downstairs in a fog, turning on MTV [before it became run by tweeners] and waiting for the video to play. I think for a solid three month stretch it made the Morning Mix rotation sometime around 6:00a. My small ‘burb be damned; they were not getting their daily news fix until I got my daily Cox fix. Personal anecdotes aside, that’s the hypnotic staying power of “Who Do U Love” right there.

Currently the soulful vocalist is prepping her first album in seven years, Work Of Art, having just released catchy lead track “Kinda Miss You.”