"I had this instinct and I just knew it. It was a very strange thing and as soon as I finished recording it, we were all in the studio saying we have something really special here"
About this Quote
The phrase “a very strange thing” is doing quiet work. Cox isn’t romanticizing chaos; she’s admitting that confidence can feel uncanny when it’s immediate and collective. That “strange” is also protection against sounding arrogant. In pop and R&B especially, where artists are constantly asked to justify their relevance against charts and trends, claiming certainty can read as ego. Calling it strange keeps it human.
Then she widens the frame: “we were all in the studio.” This isn’t the lone-genius myth. It’s the opposite - a snapshot of creative labor as teamwork, vibe, and mutual recognition. The subtext is that “special” isn’t only the song; it’s the alignment of performance, production, and shared belief. In an industry built on second-guessing, that kind of consensus is its own form of lightning.
Context matters: Cox came up in an era when powerhouse vocals had to compete with studio sheen and label expectations. Her quote reads like an artist locating authority where the industry can’t edit it: the moment of capture, the take you can’t talk yourself out of.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cox, Deborah. (2026, January 17). I had this instinct and I just knew it. It was a very strange thing and as soon as I finished recording it, we were all in the studio saying we have something really special here. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-this-instinct-and-i-just-knew-it-it-was-a-44048/
Chicago Style
Cox, Deborah. "I had this instinct and I just knew it. It was a very strange thing and as soon as I finished recording it, we were all in the studio saying we have something really special here." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-this-instinct-and-i-just-knew-it-it-was-a-44048/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I had this instinct and I just knew it. It was a very strange thing and as soon as I finished recording it, we were all in the studio saying we have something really special here." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-this-instinct-and-i-just-knew-it-it-was-a-44048/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.





