Seal (GB)

About

Also known as: Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, Henry Seal, Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, Seal Henri Samuel, Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel, Seal Samuel, Seal-Henry Samuel

Few songs have had the second life that "Kiss from a Rose" did. Released on Seal's self titled 1994 album, it barely made a ripple at first, then became a global phenomenon after landing on the Batman Forever soundtrack, eventually topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and winning Grammy Awards for both Record and Song of the Year. That kind of dramatic arc suits an artist whose career has been anything but predictable. His debut, produced by Trevor Horn at ZTT Records, arrived in 1991 and made an immediate impact, with "Crazy" reaching number two in the UK and seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and Seal walking away from the Brit Awards that year with a historic hat trick of wins. Over the decades he has kept restless, moving from his soulful pop sound into soul covers albums, dance oriented work, and most recently a collection of jazz and swing standards with his 2017 album Standards, which he described as the album he always wanted to make. His songwriting has earned him two Ivor Novello Awards, for "Killer" and "Crazy", recognising him as one of the more thoughtful craftsmen in British pop.