Seal is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Over 20 million recordings have been sold globally by him. These include his most well-known song, Kiss from a Rose, released in 1994, and the popular singles Crazy and Killer, the latter of which peaked at number one in the UK. For his unusual soulful singing voice, Seal is well-known. However, from which film was the Kiss from a Rose initially know n?
Before it was made public in 1995 for the Batman Forever film, Seals’ mega-hit Kiss From a Rose debuted in The Never ending Story III.
The Early Life of Seal
Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel was born on February 19, 1963, at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, to Adebisi Ogundeji, a Nigerian mother, and Francis Samuel, an Afro-Brazilian father. In Westminster, London, he was raised by a foster family. He earned a two-year diploma in architecture and worked in various jobs around London. (Source: Biography)
What Inspired Seal to Write “Kiss From a Rose”?
Kiss From a Rose, written and performed by Seal, is one of the best examples of a song that the artist thought had no chance of becoming a worldwide number one hit.
While Seal had no faith in it, the song struck a chord with millions of listeners once it was made available to the public. It won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Kiss from a Rose, from Seal’s eponymous second album, was released as a single in July 1994 and was later included on the Batman Forever soundtrack, which helped it top the charts in both the United States and Australia.
It was written long before any of my first albums. I wrote it about three years before I was signed before I even had a contract. It’s quite old. The song began as an experiment. I was living in a squat when I first started. I had one of those four-track port-a-studios, which are tape machines that split a cassette into four tracks.
Seal, British Singer, and Songwriter
Seal explained the song’s history on the Genius website a few years ago and how he never intended for it to be released. He recorded the song but didn’t like the results.
I slid the tape into the corner. I was embarrassed by it, so I refused to play it for Trevor Horn, my producer. But I told a friend about it. Trevor kept asking me about this rose song he’d heard while I was recording my second album. My friend had informed him of it. Because he kept browbeating me, I finally played it to him on the second album. To be honest, I was never particularly proud of it, though I appreciate Trevor’s work on the recording. He turned that tape from my neighborhood into another 8,000,000 record sales, and my name became well-known. When I was picking up Grammys for it, I realized it wasn’t a song from a tape in the corner. Of course, I love it now, and I am grateful that I have a song like that that most people enjoy.
Seal, British Singer, and Songwriter
(Source: American Songwriter)
Image from SmoothRadio