"Kiss from a Rose" was written in 1987, several years prior to the release of Seal's eponymous debut album from 1991. After writing the song, Seal felt "embarrassed by it" and "threw the tape in the corner". Seal did not present it to producer Trevor Horn until the recording sessions for Seal II. In 2015, Seal said of the song: "To be honest, I was never really that proud of it, though I like what Trevor did with the recording. He turned that tape from my corner into another 8 million record sales and my name became a household name".[4]
Seal talked about the long, strange journey that the song went through on The Brian McKnight Show season finale that aired 30 May 2010. He described how the song initially dropped out of the charts shortly after its release. Joel Schumacher subsequently called Seal, and requested use of the song to play over a love scene between the characters played by Nicole Kidman and Val Kilmer in Batman Forever.
Critical receptionedit
Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel felt that "fairy-tale-ish melodies and harmonies" uplift "Kiss from a Rose".[6] Ian Gittins from Melody Maker noted its "would-be butterfly sigh".[7] Another editor, Andrew Mueller, called it "a nondescript wine bar ballad".[8]
Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Sealed with a kiss, here you get a ballad and a half! It's got the right pathos and the unavoidable violins. The thorn, needed to show the sincerity, comes from the razor sharp alto sax".[9]
Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "Seal's magnificent 'Kiss from a Rose' – now subtitled 'Love Theme from Batman Forever' – is back a mere year after its first release when it reached number 19. A complex yet melodic song, it has remained a radio staple since it was first released, and is ready to explode".[10]
The song's cryptic lyrics have been the subject of debate since its release. In 2015, Seal provided verified commentary on the "Kiss from a Rose" entry on the website Genius, stating simply: "I have avoided explaining these lyrics for over 25 years. I am not going to start doing it now".[11]
Music videoedit
Two versions of the music video were produced:
The original version is set in a photographic studio and was co-directed by Matthew Rolston and William Levin. The 1966 film Blowup was heavily referenced in the video.
The second version was directed by Joel Schumacher and has Seal performing the song beside the Bat-Signal, interspersed with clips from the film Batman Forever. This is the more well known video of the song. The director of photography of this version of the music video was Neil Abramson.
Track listingedit
Between all the formats of the single release, bonus tracks include the non-album tracks "The Wind Cries Mary" (a Jimi Hendrix cover) and "Blues in 'E'"; remixes of "Kiss from a Rose" by Adamski (who produced the original version of "Killer"); and remixes of album track "I'm Alive" by Steve Fitzmaurice and Sasha with BT.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^ abHunter, James (2 November 2004). "Seal". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 723.
^Larkin, Colin (1999). All-Time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin Books. p. 87. ISBN 0-7535-0354-9. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021.
^"Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
^"Seal – Kiss From a Rose Lyrics". Genius. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^"Kiss From A Rose by Seal Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
^Campbell, Chuck (17 June 1994). "McLachlan Explores Love At Its Darkest". Knoxville News Sentinel.
^Gittins, Ian (4 June 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^"Music & Media 1995 in Review – Year End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
^"Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
^"Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1995" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^"Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^"Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
^"Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1995" (in German). Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^"Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
^"Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
^"The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. 23 December 1995. p. YE-80. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
^"The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. 15 December 1995. p. 8.
^"The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover Top Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. 15 December 1995. p. 9.
^"The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. 28 December 1996. p. YE-84. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
^"Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. 27 December 1996. p. 33.
^Geoff Mayfield (25 December 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
^"Danish single certifications". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 18 January 2022.