Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (born 19 February 1963), known as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an MTV Video Music Award.Seal is known for his numerous international hits, the best known being "Kiss from a Rose", which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 film Batman Forever. He has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.He is a coach on The Voice Australia.
Early life
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born on 19 February 1963 in Paddington, London, England. He is the son of Adebisi and Francis Samuel. His mother is Nigerian, while his father is Brazilian. Seal’s name, Olusegun, means "God is victorious" in the Yoruba language. He was raised in a district of the City of Westminster in inner London by his foster family. He received a two-year diploma, or associate’s degree, in architecture and worked in various jobs in the London area.
Although there have long been rumours as to the cause of the scars on his face, they are in fact the result of a type of lupus called discoid lupus erythematosus – a condition that specifically affects the skin above the neck.
Early career
After a short time singing in local clubs and bars, in the 1980s, he joined Push, a British funk band, and toured with them in Japan. In Asia he joined a blues band in Thailand for a while before separating from the group and journeying throughout India on his own. Seal returned to England, sleeping on the couch of friend Julian Bunster, then a model. He sometimes asked him "Do I sing well?"; to which he often received the response that he sang better than most current artists. His break came when he met the producer Adamski. He was given the lyrics of the song "Killer", which was a huge hit in 1990.
Seal first came to public attention as vocalist on the Adamski single "Killer" in 1990. The single eventually reached number one in 1990 in the UK. Seal subsequently signed to ZTT Records and released his self-titled début album (produced by Trevor Horn) in 1991. Two versions of the album are known to be in circulation: the original "premix" version and a second, more common version with an updated mix. This is attributed to the demand for a produced single rushing the final album edit, and as Seal puts it, his and producer Horn’s "inability to let go."
Seal was positively received by critics. The singles "Crazy", "Future Love Paradise", and his own rendition of "Killer" performed well on the charts. In particular, "Crazy" became an international hit in 1991, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Seal stole the show at the 1992 Brit Awards held at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, with the first hat-trick of wins in the history of the event. He won in three categories: Best British Male, Best British Video ("Killer"), and Best British Album (Seal).
In April 1992 Seal performed with the surviving members of the rock band Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert held at Wembley Stadium. Seal performed on his own singing the 1986 hit "Who Wants to Live Forever" and joined the rest of the acts for the all star finale singing "We Are the Champions."
In 1992 Seal appeared on the Red Hot Organization’s compilation CD Red Hot + Dance, contributing an exclusive track "Crazy (If I Was Trev Mix)." The album, featuring George Michael and Madonna among others, raised money and awareness in support of the AIDS epidemic by donating all proceeds to AIDS charities.
Here is Seal doing Kiss from a Rose:
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