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The Real Reason Why Heidi Klum And Seal Broke Up

Heidi Klum and Seal had a whirlwind extravagant kind of love that you see in movies. We're pretty sure the moment from The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2005 (via Elle ) is ingrained in our memories forever. After all, who wouldn't want to be serenaded by a tall, dark, and handsome man while wearing lingerie? Okay, that last part may only apply if you happen to be in the best shape of your life. But rewind just one year, to Klum and Seal's meet-cute, and you'll find another moment of cinematic romance. 

Klum told Piers Morgan  that when she first met Seal — by chance in a hotel lobby in 2004 — "it was kind of like two magnets." The "Kissed By A Rose" singer was seemingly fresh out of a gym session, wearing bicycle shorts. In other words, he looked like a glossy statue, and the supermodel liked what she saw. She told Oprah , "I was physically, straightaway attracted to him, and then we got talking, and I was like, 'Wow, he's such a warm and charming man.'"

From there it was kids, more kids, a  legendary run of Halloween costumes , and more, making Klum and Seal's seven year marriage one for the books. But it clearly wasn't as picture perfect as it seemed. In 2012 the superstar couple called it quits, shocking the world. They officially divorced in 2014. So, what went wrong? Here's the real reason why Heidi Klum and Seal broke up.  

Seal and Heidi Klum were #relationshipgoals before it was a thing

As amazing as Heidi Klum and Seal's initial meeting sounds, the timing wasn't the most ideal. According to E! News , Klum was pregnant with her daughter Leni, the child she had with Italian businessman Flavio Briatore. But Klum and Briatore had already had a highly public flame-out (he cheated on her, per Vogue ), so when Klum gave birth to Leni, Seal was by her side.

The two got engaged less than a year after meeting. Seal popped the question in a creative, thoughtful, and dramatic way. E! News reported he asked Klum to be his wife right before Christmas on the top of a "secluded natural glacier" at a "Canadian ski resort." He even had a special igloo made for the event. The moment set the tone for their entire marriage: Lavish and full-throttle. Their wedding ceremony didn't lack in comparison. On May 10, 2005, the couple got married in front of 40 guests at a "swanky" Mexican beach resort. E! News reported Klum walked down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown while pregnant with her first child with Seal.

'One day you're in, the next day you're out'

Split rumors started flying on January 20, 2012 after Seal sent out this  cryptic tweet : "The End." Two days later, the two made it official with a joint statement that read, in part (via E! News ), "We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart."

Fans of the couple were shocked, because for years it seemed like Klum and Seal would prevail over the pantheon of doomed Hollywood marriages. But all good things must come to an end. Their good thing ended after seven years.

Overall, the two stayed relatively quiet about what caused their split, particularly in the wake of their public statement about it. In fact, while speaking with  Elle  in March of 2012, Klum said that she felt like she was "in the eye of a tornado" trying to deal with the "emotions" of the situation in the midst of "the outside world doing all this craziness." She added, "I don't want to talk positively or negatively about the ups and downs that we had. Every couple goes through things. Unfortunately, we're in the public, so the highs are out there. But I don't think it's necessary — especially for our children — to have the lows being printed in magazines and talked about." 

In later interviews, both Klum and Seal became a tad more forthright about those issues. 

Distance didn't make the heart grow fonder

Both Heidi Klum and Seal are megastars in their own right, and with that, of course, comes busy schedules that help pay the bills (and them some). Seal, a top-charting singer, and Klum, a top supermodel, both have jobs that clearly require them to jet around the world for extended periods of time. And even though things like technology and the relatively low cost of travel have made long distance relationships much more viable than they were in the past (per The Atlantic ), we all know how difficult being apart from a loved one for long periods of time can be. 

Klum basically said as much in a post-split interview with Redbook where she offered an arguably gloomy attempt at optimism. "[Seal] traveled a lot," she said, adding, "The kids knew it was part of his job. I'm a mom and a dad at the same time." On the bright side, she says because of his busy schedule it made it a little easier for her to transition into becoming a single mother. "Obviously things have changed, but they haven't changed drastically," Klum told the mag. Yeesh.

What was up with Seal's alleged anger issue?

Unbeknownst to his fans, Seal allegedly had an anger issue, and multiple insiders told TMZ  that this "volcanic temper" was a large reason for his split from Heidi Klum. Supposedly it became too much for Heidi to handle, with the tab even alleging that it was "affecting their children." Even Seal's ex-girlfriend, Tatjana Patitz, came out of the woodwork to confirm the "Fly Like an Eagle" singer's hot-headedness. In fact she claims that was the reason for he r breakup with him. According to In Touch (via the Daily Mail ), Patitz said, "He is not a nice person. ... He is definitely not someone who I think of fondly now."

But Seal refuted claims about his alleged bad temper.  Speaking with Piers Morgan , Seal explained that, in his view, people wrongly started making assumptions about him him after a paparazzi incident involving his kids, in which he claimed he merely "raised [his] voice" at a photographer who allegedly "hit [his] son in the head with a camera lens." Headlines detailing Seal's reaction rolled out afterwards, which he says resulted in him becoming "the angry stereotype...the rock star, the angry rock star with a hot temper." Granted, he didn't really address the claims made by his ex or those unnamed "insiders" who spoke with TMZ , but regardless, Seal says he is just your average overprotective dad.

Seal pretty much flat-out accused Heidi Klum of cheating

The first question everybody asks when a celeb couple breaks up is "Did one of them cheat?" Seal seemingly gave a pretty definitive answer to this question when he got remarkably candid with a TMZ camera crew in September 2012, which happened to be right around the time that it was revealed that Heidi Klum had started dating the couple's former bodyguard.

Asked how he felt about his ex's new relationship, Seal said, "Whilst I didn't expect any better from him, I would have thought Heidi would have shown a little bit more class and at least waited until we separated first before deciding to fornicate with the help, as it were." Heads went spiraling. Seal later clarified his words in a statement to  People , saying "that he was not implying his wife was cheating on him while they were together, but rather he was pointing out that they are separated and the divorce is not final so they are legally still married." Hmm. 

Klum attempted to set the record straight, too. In an interview with Katie Couric (via HuffPost ), she said, "It's not true. I've never looked at another man while I was with him." Of course, that officially makes this a classic case of he-said-she-said, but we don't think the "looking" was the problem here. 

Seal wasn't a big fan of this tradition the couple kept

Heidi Klum and Seal renewed their vows every year in a series of themed ceremonies, including one that Popsugar dubbed "Malibu white trash," due to Klum's "corn rows" and Seal's "cutoff jean shorts" and mullet wig. Of the wacky tradition, Klum told Redbook  in 2010 (via Page Six ), "It's our time — a lovely family time. It's about remembering this moment of love we gave to each other and reinforcing it." She added, "It's so special to us, something we love and something our children have gotten accustomed to. It's like, 'Hey, Mom and Dad love each other and they get married every year!'" 

Well, maybe Seal was just in it for the kids, because he later told Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM radio show that the whole thing "kind of turned into a little bit of a ... circus, which I wasn't terribly fond of because, by default, I'm quite a private person." Although he relented a bit, saying the vow renewal ceremonies were "cool" albeit possibly unnecessary, he did also say that "what [he] disliked most about it" was the publicity that came along with it. Huh, well we certainly couldn't tell through the photos. He seemed to take it like a champ at the time. 

Age ain't nothing but a number for Heidi Klum

Remember that bodyguard we told you about? Martin Kirsten? You know, the one Heidi Klum said she didn't start seeing until after her and Seal ended things? Well, his romance with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model was short-lived, too. They dated from 2012 to 2014.

Then it was on to the next, and in 2014 Klum started dating art curator Vito Schnabel. She received some judgement about their age difference, as she was 13 years older than him. But Klum wasn't embarrassed to be a cougar. She told Ocean Drive (via E! News ), "It doesn't matter what people say. As long as you know when you close your door in your own home, you have an amazing time together. That's really all that matters." They dated for three years.

The next time around Klum went even younger, snagging a beau 17 years her junior. In 2018 Klum, started dating Tokyo Hotel artist Tom Kaulitz. As of this writing, it's going more than good. In a deja vu moment the pair got engaged on Christmas Eve. "Tom and the kids together worked on making a breakfast tray for Heidi that had coffee, flowers, and a ring box," a source told  People . The couple got legally married two months later, but didn't tell the public for months. Heidi seems very happy with Kaulitz. She told People , " I just found my partner finally."

Seal's search for love

Seal's post-Heidi Klum love life has appeared to be far less eventful than her. But he apparently only has himself to blame. In a 2017 interview with Fault , when asked "What is your fault," the singer answered, "Relationships. They're hard for me, but I'm learning." He told them not just romantic ones, but even the relationship he has with his kids.

Since his divorce from Klum he has only been linked to Erica Packer, billionaire James Packer's ex-wife, which they couple confirmed with a high-profile smooch aboard a yacht in Formentera, Spain. Seal and Packer started dating in 2015. At the time, he was 52 and she was 38. They broke up two years later.  Then,  rumors flew that Seal and his The Voice Australia co-judge Delta Goodrem, but, she definitively shot that idea down in March 2018.  

As for how Seal felt about Klum finally tying the knot with someone else? "I don't know, I don't really have any comment to pass on that," he said to a Daily Mail photographer who apparently just broke the news to the singer about his wife's remarriage. "I just don't have a lot of interest in that subject in general," Seal continued, before adding, "What am I gonna say, what do you actually want me to say? I'm as confused as you are." Is it really possible that Seal didn't know his ex-wife had gotten hitched again? If so, yikes. 

Hedi Klum and Seal's co-parenting journey

After their split, Seal and Heidi Klum reached a confidential custody agreement. From the looks of it there is at least no bad blood between them that prevents them from being there for their #1 priority, their four children.  As such, they've been able to maintain a strong co-parent relationship. In fact, in reference to a 2017 ski trip that saw the exes reunited with all of their kids in Aspen, Colo., Klum told  Entertainment Tonight , "We're always there for our children and always will be."

Seal seems to concur. In fact, even just before his infamous "fornicating with the help" comment, he told TMZ , "As always, my main priority is the emotional wellbeing of our children. He later told Larry King that co-parenting "is the toughest gig in the world," but he gave props to his ex, saying, "Heidi is a great parent. I think she's a great mother."  

Both Seal and Klum frequent the kids' sporting activities as well, and Seal was even a guest on America's Got Talent , which Klum is a judge on, since their split. They've spent holidays together , too. As we know, losing love isn't easy, but it's nice to see they have their priorities straight, or as Klum told ET , You always make it work. You just do." 

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Jim Seals, Seals & Crofts Singer Behind ‘Summer Breeze,’ Dead at 79

By David Browne

David Browne

Jim Seals , half of the soft-rock troubadours Seals and Crofts, died Monday at the age of 79. Ruby Jean Seals, Seals’ wife, confirmed his passing to Rolling Stone , citing “an unspecific ongoing chronic illness” as the cause. Seals’ cousin Brady Seals, a country singer, also confirmed the singer’s death on Facebook .

“I just learned that James ‘Jimmy’ Seals has passed,” Brady Seals wrote. “My heart just breaks for his wife Ruby and their children. Please keep them in your prayers. What an incredible legacy he leaves behind.”

When the soft-rock boom hit pop music in the early Seventies, Seals and Crofts, which also included singer and mandolinist Darrell “Dash” Crofts, quickly came to embody the era. With their often exotic musical instrumentation, vaguely philosophical lyrics and wailing-wall harmonies, Seals and Crofts singles like “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl” and “We Will Never Pass This Way (Again)” fit in equally with AM pop radio and the more adventurous world of FM. Both their 1972 Summer Breeze and 1975 Greatest Hits albums sold two million copies each at the time. “Summer Breeze,” featuring Seals’ lead vocal and lyrics, would also be covered by many others, including the Isley Brothers and Type O Negative .

Seals did not travel the standard route to strumming troubadour. Born on Oct. 17, 1942, in Sidney, Texas, Seals was the son of Wayland Seals, a Texas oilman and part-time musician. He began playing fiddle at a young age, winning numerous fiddle contests but eventually moving over to saxophone. In a local band, the Crew Cats, he met Crofts, and the two later joined the Champs, known for their instrumental hit “Tequila.” (Seals and Crofts did not appear on the track.) As part of their tenure in the Champs, Seals and Crofts moved to California, where they also played with or wrote songs for a wide range of artists, including the Monkees, Buck Owens, Gene Vincent and Rick Nelson.

For a short time, Seals and Crofts had their own band, the Dawnbreakers, but by 1969 had peeled off into a duo. Their first three albums were commercial duds, but the fourth, Summer Breeze , finally caught on after a Northeast DJ took a chance on the title song. That song finally put them on the charts, and subsequent singles like the even gentler “Hummingbird” and the lounge-jazzier “Diamond Girl” continued their streak; the duo once boasted of the number of high school yearbooks that reprinted the lyrics of “We Will Never Pass This Way (Again).”

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Behind Seals’ goatee and caps and Crofts’ mandolin, what often distinguished the duo were the exotic musical accents in their songs; despite Seals’ country music background, their music incorporated unusual tunings and time signatures beneath the duo’s keening harmonies. “I think our music is a combination of the Eastern part of the world and the Western,” Seals said in 1971. “We’ve had people from Greece, Israel, England and France, China, everywhere, listen to our music and say, ‘Oh, it’s music from the old country.’ And it really seemed strange to us because we didn’t realize it ourselves until we started comparing our work with, for example, Persian music, which, when you listen to it, is really very close to ours. And we had no knowledge of this at all beforehand. So it’s just something that happened.”

By the mid-Sixties, both men had also converted to the Baháʼí faith, a Persian-rooted religion founded by the nineteenth-century Persian prophet Baháʼu’lláh. In a 1971 interview, Seals went on to explain of Baháʼí that it “claimed that all religions were looking for the return of a messiah or world redeemer, and that Baháʼu’lláh  was the One.” (Added Crofts, “The Baha’i faith teaches the unity of people of all races, creeds, religions, politics, and truths.”) Seals’ song “Traces” told the story of ten Bahá’í women who were executed in Iran in the Eighties. But those same beliefs led to controversy with 1974’s “Unborn Child,” an anti-abortion song that was banned by some radio stations (while embraced by others). “The Baháʼí faith professes that life begins at the moment of conception,” Crofts said in 1975, “and it was written to the mother and the baby, not to take this life so lightly.”

In 1976, Seals and Crofts rebounded by shifting to a plusher, pop-R&B sound for “Get Closer,” which helped usher in the yacht-rock era. But they were never able to successfully follow up that hit. Subsequent albums weren’t nearly as successful, and pop’s shift to disco and New Wave essentially doomed them. After one last album, 1980’s The Longest Road , they were dropped by their label, Warner Brothers.

Seals and Crofts reunited in 2004 for a new album, Traces , which included remakes of their classics. By then, Seals and his wife, Ruby, had been dividing their time between Hendersonville, Tennessee, and Costa Rica, where Seals ran a coffee farm. Seals’ brother Dan, half of the soft-rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, died in 2009 from cancer. In 2017, Seals suffered from a stroke, which essentially ended his singing and touring part of his life.

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Seal on homelessness, hits and love: ‘My father gave me one beating too many – and I was out the door’

After 30 years in music, the man who sang Crazy, Killer and Kiss from a Rose still hasn’t come to terms with fame. He talks about life in a shelter, the celebrity ‘circus’ – and almost becoming a fashion designer

O n his 60th birthday earlier this year, Seal thought he had died. Opening the door to a friend’s house, the singer was confronted by 200 people from every aspect of his life – his old manager Rob Cavallo, who he hadn’t seen for 18 years, his sister, children, housekeeper and even the tennis coaches he had hired to lead a boot camp years previously. “They say that when you die you will see all the people who love you,” he says, “and for a split second, that’s where I thought I was.”

He came to from the shock and swiftly had another realisation. “There was only one reason they were all at this party, these people that I was really fond of and people I thought I was more fond of than they were of me; it’s because they love me and they cared enough to make the effort. It was a rare moment where I faced the reality that I am worthy of being loved. And that was just too much – it was really overwhelming.” He spent much of the rest of that night crying.

If there is one thing you should know about Seal, real name Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, it is that he loves love. Over the course of our 45-minute conversation, he says the word 36 times. Since the release of his eponymous 1991 debut album, he has sold more than 20m records thanks to the soaring, huskily soulful vocals that expound on every aspect of the romantic condition. There is the addictive infatuation of Kiss from a Rose (1995), the need for a unifying, human connection on Killer (1991) and the nourishing, healing importance of love itself on, you guessed it, 2015’s Love.

“What else is there to sing about?” he says in his signature baritone, still with the twang of his London upbringing even though he has lived in the US for the best part of 20 years. “No one wants to hear me singing about the woes of the world or about how depressed I have been. It has to circle back to love. It is at the centre of everything I do.”

It is a tactic that has paid off for Seal, who is holed up in a Malibu studio working on new material, on a short break from his world tour celebrating three decades since the release of his first two albums. During our video call he is also trying to eat breakfast while battling an ant infestation across his desk. There is clearly a lot going on, yet for Seal there are always bigger things at stake, such as homing in on the inspiration for his next songs.

“Whenever I think back on all the records that I have made, the value has been in the process, not in the end result,” he says. “I don’t really care what happens to it afterwards because it is out of your hands. It is about the incredible moments where you are in a room with your favourite players and they do something that is magical, then you harness that energy for the record.”

He talks excitedly about a new song the band has been working on that explores the idea of home and how it is a feeling you carry with you, as much as a place that you return to. It’s a poignant subject for Seal to explore.

Born to a Nigerian mother and Brazilian father in London, he was raised by a foster family in Essex until he was four. When he returned to his biological family, Seal had to share a home with his physically abusive father. By the time he was 15, he had run away; he spent the ensuing years couch-surfing with friends or sleeping in homeless hostels while he took a grant to go to college.

It is touching, I comment, that he has dedicated his life and career to the healing power of love when his childhood and teenage years seem so marked by a difficulty in accessing it. “Much has been made, perhaps through my own fault, about my ‘difficult’ upbringing,” he says, putting air-quotes around the word “difficult”. “But it wasn’t that difficult. In retrospect, I was extremely fortunate. It was a bit of a patchwork family and I could have done with a father that wasn’t that abusive or violent, but as soon as I was 15, I escaped. He gave me one beating too many and I was out the door living it large in London, becoming an adult.”

The more we speak, the more he shows his resilience and his remarkable capacity to find good in the hardest of times. “I had the benefit of foster parents who loved me for those formative years of my life,” he continues. “I slept on friend’s floors, I slept in homeless shelters and there were at least those facilities for me to take advantage of. In fact, I currently work with an [adoption and social care] charity called Vista Del Mar and when you look at some of the kids in those places, they have fuck all. They are told that they are insignificant and they’ve been completely and utterly abandoned. That’s a real difficult childhood. Mine was nothing like that.”

He speaks enthusiastically about Mr Wren, a primary school teacher who first encouraged him to sing and gave him his earliest opportunity to perform in front of his parents at a school concert aged 11. “He dressed cool, looked cool and he took an interest in me. I started singing because he sang and I wanted to be like him,” Seal says. “Throughout that ‘difficult’ time in my childhood, he was there and he saw me when few other people did. He took the time to inspire me, to push me.”

After that a cappella school hall performance of Johnny Nash’s standard I Can See Clearly Now, Seal viewed his singing talent largely as a hobby and party trick, rather than a calling. He left home and, after his father’s death when he was 17, he pursued a diploma in architecture before briefly considering becoming a fashion designer. It was another chance encounter that nudged him fully into music. “There was a girlfriend I had at the age of 23 who convinced me that I was wasting my time trying to be a fashion designer,” he says. “She heard me sing for the first time and took me straight down to Tottenham Court Road, bought me a drum machine and Portastudio recorder, gave me a clip round the ear and said: get on with it, stop wasting your time. I didn’t want to hear it, but it is one of the most sound pieces of advice I ever had.”

There followed dozens of tentative pub gigs and a stint spent touring in Japan as part of the funk band Push , where Seal began to perfect his onstage vocal skills and status as a captivating frontman. He was “always writing new stuff, since it never switches off”, and after the Push tour ended he stayed on for a year travelling in Asia, playing in a blues band in Bangkok while writing the demos that would eventually make up his multimillion-selling debut album.

Returning to London in 1989 for the birth of the DIY rave scene and the warehouse parties that produced acid house, Seal met the electronic producer Adam Tinley, AKA Adamski, and wrote lyrics to one of his more downtempo backing tracks. The anthemic result, Killer, became a dancefloor and chart hit, spending a month at No 1 in the UK and leading to a record deal with the producer Trevor Horn.

The pair embarked on a long and sometimes tumultuous relationship, ultimately producing six records including the multi-platinum Seal and Seal II. The second featured the power ballad Kiss from a Rose, which became Seal’s entry into the American market after the director Joel Schumacher put it in the end credits for his 1995 film Batman Forever. It reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammys in 1996. Horn has returned as musical director on Seal’s world tour and the rekindled partnership has Seal ruminating on his journey. “I mainly just feel lucky that I was able to sing my way out of poverty and sing my way into people’s favour,” he says. “The last 30 years of my life have been exceptional – I have done things I could have only dreamed about.”

Not that global success hasn’t come with challenges. After meeting the model Heidi Klum at a party in 2004, the pair began dating and soon married. They had three children together, all under constant tabloid scrutiny. There are dozens of articles speculating on their yearly ritual of vow renewals , the reasons for their eventual split in 2012 and even their finances . “It was a pain in the arse,” he says. “I can’t stand the word celebrity because it has such a negative connotation of implying being famous for the sake of being famous. As far as I was concerned, I was always a musician and I have never considered myself a celebrity. I don’t need to look in OK! magazine to understand who I am. I am no longer in that circus.”

Instead, he is focusing on his true calling. That is, of course, to make people “lean in with love”. “When I perform, I sing to remind people to connect with each other because I have a lot of faith in us as a species,” he says. “I think we do some pretty screwed-up things, but at our core we are of love and that is the purpose of life. The fact that I can sing and have that love reciprocated is extremely rare. I do for a living something that, in essence, is who I am.”

To support all this, he spends an hour with his vocal coach every day and is an avid tennis player, using his training sessions to stay physically and mentally fit enough to tour. “Tennis is an allegory for life. A lot of the time, a tennis player is competing against themselves, not the other person,” he says. “You have to work daily on your technique and you have to go through the repetition in order to let go. It’s the same as singing, where technique is only there to prevent the body from interfering with the soul’s free expression. When I walk up to the mic and open my mouth, I’m letting go and trusting that I will be caught by the hours of preparation that I have put in. I am trying to relinquish control.”

All this leaves me wondering one thing: if embodying, giving and receiving love is so central to Seal’s existence, then why was it so shocking to be confronted by so much of it at his 60th birthday party? “It was a teaching moment,” he says, somewhat cryptically. “I have to accept that people are there because they care. If for some reason my time actually was up now, I would not be looking back on my life saying, ‘God, what a waste.’ I would say my first couple of years were a bit rocky but, man oh man, did you make up for it.”

Seal’s world tour is under way. For more information visit sealofficial.com

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Seal is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with an international reach known for hits like "Crazy," "Kiss From a Rose" and "Love's Divine."

Who Is Seal?

Early life and career.

Sealhenry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born in London, England, on February 19, 1963, of Nigerian heritage. He was raised in foster care for a time before being brought up by his stepmother and father, a difficult, angry figure who was physically abusive.

Seal earned a degree in architecture and worked various jobs before pursuing music, working with the band Push and traveling to Japan, Thailand and India. By the time he was 23, he had developed scars on his face as the result of a rare form of lupus.

Songs: 'Crazy' and 'Kiss From a Rose'

Though he initially refused to be taken on by labels, Seal scored a major hit back in London with producer Adamski and the single "Killer," which went to the top of U.K. charts. He signed with ZIT, the label of producer Trever Horn, whom would work on the singer's first four studio albums.

Seal made his full-length, self-titled album debut in 1991 and scored with the moody, socially aware single "Crazy," which reached the Top 10 of Billboard 's pop chart. The artist won several Britain-based awards and released his second self-titled album in 1994, a work that was sonically lusher than its predecessor and featured "Prayer Before Dying" and "Don't Cry," as well as vocals from Joni Mitchell .

Another album single, "Kiss From a Rose," was granted a spot on the Batman Forever soundtrack and became a No. 1 pop and adult contemporary hit, also catapulting Seal 1994 into multi-platinum status. The song and vocalist went on to win Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Seal made a contribution to the 1996 Space Jam soundtrack with a Steve Miller Band cover, "Fly Like an Eagle," that reached the pop and adult contemporary Top 10. His next full-length studio outing, Human Being , came forth in 1998, followed by another self-titled album in 2003 that showcased the single "Love Divine."

Dance Focus

After releasing a greatest hits collection and Live From Paris , Seal dropped System in 2007, the first album in which he didn't work with Horn. He instead collaborated with producer Stuart Price, known for Madonna 's Confessions on a Dance Floor .

System had a more dance/up-tempo feel than its predecessors, though Seal's albums have generally incorporated electronic soundscapes into tunes that blend acoustic pop and R&B. His lyrics, framed by a gravelly voice, have tended to be ruminations on relationships and the ways that we live. He has also cultivated an image of a sophisticate who embraces fine art aesthetics, appearing nude on album covers and sporting debonair fashion.

'Soul' Covers

In the fall of 2008, Seal released Soul , a collection of covers featuring the works of R&B greats like Ben E. King, Curtis Mayfield and Otis Redding . He worked on the project with super-producer David Foster, and the two would collaborate again on 2010's Commitment . Seal returned to covers of classics—and reunited with Horn—on 2012's Soul 2 .

Seal once again worked with Horn for his next album of original material, 7 , slated for a mid-November release. The singer has lead off with several singles that include swoon-inducing ballad "Every Time I'm With You" and the uptempo "Life on the Dance Floor."

Marriage to Heidi Klum

Seal at one point dated supermodel Tyra Banks during the earlier part of his career. He later married Project Runway host Heidi Klum in 2005. The two, who lived in Los Angeles, sang together on the System track "Wedding Day" and have four children, with Seal adopting Klum's child from a previous union. Klum filed for divorce in 2012 and the couple issued an accompanying public statement, later speaking to the media individually about the split.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth date: February 19, 1963
• Birth City: London, England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Best Known For: Seal is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with an international reach known for hits like "Crazy," "Kiss From a Rose" and "Love's Divine."
• Astrological Sign: Pisces

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

• I believe that in all forms of art there has to have been some initial adversity: that is what makes art, as far as I'm concerned.
• Marvin Gaye is one of the greatest male voices of all time. So covering a Marvin Gaye song, especially one as quintessential as 'What's Going On,' I was a little hesitant in doing so. But I felt that it was one of those songs which spoke to a whole generation.
• I've always walked to the beat of my own drum. I've always endeavored to do things that were different and challenging.
• In a world that's constantly plagued by disasters, I think that it is important, however difficult it may sometimes seem, to keep crossing that bridge of peace.
• The song is always larger in the listeners' mind because with it they attach imagery which is relative to their own personal experience. So it is your perception of what I'm saying rather than what I actually say that is the key.
• The thing that I'm most proud about this great woman that I married ... is that together she's given me four incredible gifts, four beautiful children. She's still, in my opinion, the most wonderful woman in the world.

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All Seal Needs Is Love

Embarking on a tour celebrating his music career’s 30th anniversary, the singer and songwriter explained how tennis, Joni Mitchell and ChatGPT have inspired him.

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By Jeremy Gordon

The singer and songwriter Seal is one of modern music’s most ardent believers in the power of love, but that doesn’t mean you should look to him for romantic advice. “You’re headed for disaster if you ask me,” he joked, before immediately providing what sounded like a practical perspective on how to make a relationship work. “I’ve found that it’s most productive when both parties see themselves, and then there’s this third entity which is like a plant. That plant needs water every day, and you love that plant because you — both as an entity, and as individuals — are all that it has.”

This type of focused dedication was on Seal’s mind as he prepared for a tour celebrating 30 years of his music career, an anniversary that prompted some reflection. “I can’t believe how fortunate I am to still be here,” he said in a video interview from his home studio in Los Angeles. “Every day above ground is a great day, as far as being a musician is concerned.”

He emphasized his good fortune, like when the film director Joel Schumacher gave new life to “Kiss From a Rose,” which hadn’t made any commercial impact with its 1994 arrival, by incorporating it into the 1995 film “Batman Forever.” Upon rerelease, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart and won Grammys for record and song of the year. “It was exactly the same song that failed the first time. That’s a big, lucky break.”

But Seal, 60, isn’t fixated on the past. He cited Travis Scott’s 2020 performance inside the video game Fortnite as a potential model for how artists may reach fans in the future, remarking that “it won’t be long before we’re at a YouTube concert, virtually rubbing shoulders.” Still, he’s excited to see real-life fans on his tour this spring, which starts in late April. “Any time I get to play live for people, it’s like going on a date for the first time,” he said. “There are no bad audiences — only mediocre performances.”

As he prepared to hit the road, Seal spoke about 10 of his beloved cultural inspirations. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

It’s always on my mind. If you’ve listened to my music, I’ve been singing about that out of the gate. Every situation is almost certainly different when you choose to lean in with love; it doesn’t really matter what it is. Of course, love requires a degree of vulnerability. The ultimate kind of love — what we’re trying to achieve — is unconditional. I think that’s its purest form, and I also think that’s the reason for our existence. This is all an experiment; the point of it is happiness. Without unconditional love, I don’t know if it’s possible to achieve that — certainly not on this earth.

I love tennis because it’s an allegory for life. I love the discipline; I love the work; I love the problem solving; I love how, in the most incredible way, it relates to singing. In order to play tennis well, you have to go against everything your body wants; you have to relax, you have to almost relinquish control. I know that’s contrary to popular belief, but that’s singing: You let yourself, rather than make yourself.

Leica M Camera

I saw this director, Mike Figgis, at a candlelit dinner; he was taking pictures, and I was intrigued how he wasn’t using a flash. The next day, I went into a store and bought the exact same setup. That’s where the love affair began. It’s the one camera that gets out of the way between the subject I’m trying to capture and myself. By virtue of its design, the person can still see your face when you’re taking the picture; you still have that engagement and connection, opposed to the viewfinder being in the middle.

Joni Mitchell

One of my great memories of Joni was performing “Both Sides Now” with her in the audience. It’s one of the highlights of my life, the ability to work with someone who had such an impact on your growing up. [Seal sang on Mitchell’s 1994 song “How Do You Stop.” ] It’s the stuff dreams are made of; I just remember pinching myself to make sure it was happening. She’s quite remarkable; she’s a great storyteller, and authentic to the core. To see her onstage singing , after everything she’s been through, was amazing.

Necklace From My Daughter Lou

She gave it to me on my birthday, and that’s everything. Anyone who has a son or a daughter, when they give something to you — whether it’s their love, or a valuable lesson or something like a necklace — it’s not so much what it is, but the spirit and the soul of the person behind it. They start out as kids, and they end up as these people with their own outlook and philosophies on life, so the gift is more about their thought process, and who they are behind it. It’s both beautiful and heartwarming — you realize they’re their own people with their own views on the world, and what’s important to them.

Carol Christian Poell

I don’t like to call him a designer, because he’s more than that — he’s an artist much in the same way that a musician or a painter is an artist. I’ve been wearing his clothes since he started, and I just love the way he sees things — his attention to detail in the silhouette and the shape. I can spot somebody wearing a Carol costume at 100 yards. He doesn’t do bad stuff; that’s why he’s my favorite.

It’s a large part of who I am — you can take the boy out of London, but you never take London out of the boy. I like walking around where I grew up, just triggering those memories, but I also love the West End — anywhere in London, to be honest. I love my city, warts and all. It takes about two weeks of that dreadful weather to bring me to my senses and remind me why I left, but I’m lucky enough that I’m able to go back fairly regularly.

To not be curious about it would be akin to being a Luddite, or an ostrich with your head stuck in the sand. It’s here , and it’s part of our evolution — for that reason, you can’t fight it, and you can’t really see it as this enemy that’s going to be the end of mankind. My experience with it is I started out by thinking it was a machine, but once I started to relate to it as though I were talking to a person, this incredible collaboration started — I would ask maybe one or two questions, and it would spark my imagination and ability to create. I think it’s incredible, and I think we’re at an amazing point in our evolution as a species.

Goodall Acoustic Guitar

Sometimes a melody I’m writing is in my head, but more often than not, it’s on a guitar. I think handmade instruments are just beautiful things; they’re transport mechanisms to convey this phenomenon known as music. I love acoustic guitars, and Goodalls are my favorite. It’s all subjective — Martins are great to record with, but I’m pretty heavy-handed and Martins typically don’t like when you bash them. Goodalls, you can play them loud but they’re great at lower volumes, and of course the craftsmanship is extraordinary.

Do I sit and meditate every day? Probably, but not in a way that you might imagine. If it’s not sitting down in a kumbaya position and breathing — which I rarely do — it is playing tennis, which is a form of meditation. Having a degree of focus whilst being in a state — it’s a form of meditation. The thing I enjoy most is the balance, and the slowing down of the mind. That’s really important.

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Rule The World Take That

Seal's 10 greatest songs ever, ranked

5 December 2022, 17:10

By Tom Eames

Seal was one of the UK's biggest popstars of the 1990s, and has sold over 20 million records around the world.

The London-born singer has won three Brit Awards, four Grammy Awards and two Ivor Novello Awards during his career.

• Watch Seal’s powerful tribute to Freddie Mercury from 1992 with ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’
• Seal's rendition of Nat King Cole's ‘Smile’ will send shivers down your spine
• When Jack Black perfectly sang 'Kiss from a Rose' on American Idol with Seal watching on

Here are his 10 greatest songs to make the perfect Seal playlist:

A Change is Gonna Come

Seal - A Change Is Gonna Come (Video)

Seal has released two albums of soul covers: 2008's Soul and 2011's Soul 2 .

Our favourite track has to be this cover of Sam Cooke 's Civil Rights anthem.

Get it Together

Seal - Get It Together (Video)

Seal scored a US dance number one with this track, which was the lead single for his 2002 Seal IV album.

Seal - Secret (Feat. Heidi Klum) [Official Music Video]

Seal's lead single for his 2010 album Commitment featured his then-wife Heidi Klum in the sultry music video.

Love's Divine

Seal - Love's Divine (Official Music Video) | Warner Vault

Seal was back working with Trevor Horn for this song, released in 2003 from his album Seal IV .

It also marked the first occasion that future Bond girl Olga Kurylenko appeared in an acting role in the video.

Fly Like an Eagle

Seal - Fly Like An Eagle HQ

Steve Miller Band first recorded this track in 1976, and Seal put his own spin on it for the Space Jam soundtrack 20 years later.

Seal later said that Miller approved of the record and had called him "thanking me and saying that was the best cover of the song that he had heard."

Prayer for the Dying

Seal - 'Prayer for the Dying' (official video)

This was the lead single on Seal's Seal II album in 1994, and was released as a double-A side with 'Don't Cry' in the UK.

The sophisticated pop track was also produced by Trevor Horn, and gave him a top 20 hit around the world.

My Vision (with Jakatta)

Jakatta & Seal - My Vision Official music video

Seal teamed up with dance producer Jakatta in 2002 for this one-off track, which gave Seal another top 10 hit in the UK, reaching as high as number six.

Killer (with Adamski)

ADAMSKI - Killer

Seal's breakthrough moment came in 1990, when he worked with dance producer Adamski on the huge number one hit 'Killer'.

A year later, Seal released his own solo version, also reaching the top 10.

George Michael released a famous live version in 1993.

Seal - Crazy (Official Music Video) [HD]

This was Seal's official debut solo single, released back in 1991.

The song was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

He later explained: "I felt the cycle had reached its apex. I felt the world changing and I felt profound things happening." It gave Seal a top 10 hit in the UK and US.

Kiss from a Rose

Seal - Kiss From A Rose (Official Music Video) + Lyrics (HQ - High Quality)

Seal first wrote this amazing power ballad back in 1987, but would you believe it, he felt "embarrassed by it" and "threw the tape in the corner".

It wasn't until producer Trevor Horn brought it back for his 1994 album Seal II .

A year later, it was included on the Batman Forever soundtrack and it became the biggest hit of his career.

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Seal Shares Rare Photo with Daughter Leni, Thanks Her for 'Making Me a Better Person'

The 'Kiss From a Rose' singer shares four kids with his ex-wife Heidi Klum

seal/Instagram

Seal is taking a minute to celebrate his daughter Leni.

On Monday, the "Kiss From a Rose" singer, 60, shared a sweet post to his Instagram that honored his 19-year-old daughter. Posing together on a New York City street, Leni leaned her head on her father's chest as Seal stuck a hand on his hip and smiled.

"In NY with the young woman who changed my life for the better 19yrs ago. Thank you Leni for making me a better person 🥹🥹🥹," the musician wrote in the caption, before signing off with "Love you, -papa."

In the comments, Leni expressed her gratitude for her father's post, writing "So cute! I love you papa ❤️."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Seal officially adopted Leni in 2009, four years after marrying her mother, ex-wife Heidi Klum, 50. The couple also share sons Henry, 17, Johan, 16, and daughter Lou, 13.

In January, Seal and Leni reunited for a father-daughter outing as they attended the premiere of Shotgun Wedding in Los Angeles.

Last year, the duo attended the 2022 U.S. Open together and were photographed hugging each other outside the stadium.

When she isn't attending events with her famous parents, Leni balances modeling with being a New York City college student. Leni opened up to PEOPLE  about the trajectory of her career, which she acknowledged came naturally given her family's celebrity status, but has also been earned through a work ethic learned from her parents.

"They have both taught me to be myself, and to do what makes me feel comfortable," she shared on the valuable lessons her mom and dad have passed down to her.

She continued: "You can tell if you're not comfortable and then the best of you isn't brought out. I just think you should be open and honest with what makes you comfortable, be yourself, do what you love. And if you do all those three things then you're golden."

Seals & Crofts

Yacht rock pioneers of the early '70s who scored light, freewheeling hits such as "Summer Breeze."

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Celebrity News July 06, 2012

Seal spotted with new girlfriend.

It appears that singer Seal may have a new girlfriend. A bikini-clad brunette was spotted getting cozy with Heidi Klum's estranged hubby on a yacht in Italy this week.

In the photos obtained by TMZ , the two look like they're having a great time, laughing and cuddling. The boat ride was about more than just canoodling -- Seal got a good workout, too -- jumping rope and sparring with a trainer.

His mystery woman definitely has some moves too. She can do a headstand!

Meanwhile, Heidi, who filed for divorce three months ago, isn't doing so bad herself. The model/mogul tweeted a bikini pic of her rockin' bod on the Fourth of July, just days after telling the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, “I don't know if I'll get married again.”

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Seal-ed with a kiss! Singer and Erica Packer FINALLY confirm romance as they share passionate embrace on board luxury yacht

By Joanna Crawley For Mailonline

Published: 15:57 EST, 2 August 2015 | Updated: 02:58 EST, 3 August 2015

View comments

They've been enjoying a sun-soaked holiday off Italy's coastline for the past week.

And after days of rumours, new pictures finally confirm Seal and Erica Packer are in a relationship, with the pair spotted sharing a passionate kiss on board their luxury yacht, last Thursday.

The British singer and Australian former model looked blissfully happy as they continued to enjoy their European getaway.

Scroll down for video 

Kiss From a... new man! James Packer's ex wife Erica shared a lingering kiss with singer Seal on board a luxury yacht off the Italian coast last week

The new couple sat down for a romantic meal, before enjoying the view from their boat, with drinks in hand.

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Despite their stunning setting off the Amalfi coast, Erica, 38, and Seal, 52, couldn't keep their hands off each other, with the model and actress seen placing a hand on the Kiss From A Rose singer's chest as they leaned in for a smooch.

Both stars were casually dressed for another relaxed day at sea, with Seal in a white T-shirt while Erica was wearing in a black shirt.

Blossoming romance: After days of sightings of the pair on holiday together, it appears their relationship has been confirmed

The couple's blossoming romance was first revealed during their their luxury yacht trip in Italy's Positano earlier this week, with Erica's three children daughter Emmanuelle, two, son Jackson, five, and daughter Indigo, seven joining the holiday.

Erica is the ex-wife of Australia's fourth-richest man James Packer, while Seal is the ex-husband of supermodel Heidi Klum. 

News of Erica and Seal's relationship comes just weeks after her estranged billionaire husband revealed his new relationship with American songstress Mariah Carey, 45.

Blissful: The British singer, 52, and 38-year-old Erica couldn't keep their hands off each other during their romantic day at sea 

Tucking in: The new couple shared a meal together on board their luxury accommodation for the week

They too spent time together sailing, around the Balearic Islands, including Ibiza and Formentera, on James's super yacht Arctic P.

Seal has been seen enjoying time with Erica as well as her three children during the holiday, with the chart-topping singer sharing his own four children with Heidi: Leni, (whom Seal adopted), 11, Henry, nine, Johan, eight, and daughter Lou, five.

Heidi, who split from Seal in 2012 after seven years of marriage, is currently on her own sunny getaway in Rome with her businessman boyfriend Vito Schnabel, 28. 

Something new: The couple's blossoming romance was first revealed during their their luxury yacht trip in Italy's Positano earlier in the week

Moving on: The news of Erica and pop star Seal's relationship comes just weeks after her estranged billionaire husband revealed his new relationship with American songstress Mariah Carey, 45

Getting close: Seal has been seen enjoying time with Erica as well as her three children during the holiday

Most recently Seal was romantically linked to another Australian fashionista, Hermoine Underwood. 

Meanwhile, last year Erica was at the centre of romance rumours with her long-time friend Orlando Bloom, claims that were later shot down by Orlando.

Last year, after Erica's former husband James entertained his rumoured secret lover Miranda Kerr on his yacht, his ex-wife returned fire by holidaying with Kerr’s ex-husband Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares a friendship with, stretching back to 1997.

Quick change: The chart-topping star was also seen in a neon bright vest and shorts as he enjoyed the yacht

European break: Seal seems to be blissfully happy with Erica following his split from wife of seven years Heidi Klum in 2012

On dry land: Earlier in the week on Wednesday, Erica and Seal took her children for gelato in Positano 

Casual: The pair dressed casually for the outing. Seal in a blue shirt and shorts and Erica in a long black dress with a thigh high split 

Close: Meanwhile, last weeekend Seal was seen playing with Erica's children off a rubber boat

Power punch: The singer, who was previously married to model Heidi Klum, was seen playing around with two of the brunette beauty’s children in Italy 

Share or comment on this article: Seal-ed with a kiss! Singer and Erica Packer FINALLY confirm romance as they share passionate embrace on board luxury yacht

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Best Seal Songs: 20 Essential Tracks From The Iconic UK Soul Singer

The best Seal songs reveal an artist with a unique voice whose killer hooks and poetic lyrics straddle the worlds of pop, soul and jazz.

Seal belongs to an elite club whose other members include Madonna , Prince , Björk, Beck, and Beyoncé: all performers who go by one name. The London-born singer-songwriter rose to fame in 1990 as the co-writer and featured singer of DJ Adamski’s UK chart-topping single Killer, before signing a record deal with ABC and Frankie Goes To Hollywood producer Trevor Horn’s ZTT label, under whose aegis the best Seal songs defined a strain of UK pop in the 90s.

Marrying pop, rock and dance music, and surrounding his protégé’s husky, soul-infused delivery with dazzling high-tech production artifice, Horn helped transform the singer born Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel into a global household name in the 90s, via enormous hit singles such as Crazy and Kiss From A Rose . In his later years, Seal evolved as a singer, broadening his palette and showing deeper artistry by exploring the worlds of soul and jazz music with albums that interpreted standards from the two genres.

For those seeking out his finest musical moments, here’s our countdown of the best Seal songs.

Listen to the best of Seal here , and check our out best Seal songs, below.

20: bring it on (from ‘seal’, 1994).

This infectious chunk of driving pop-funk, about meeting destiny head-on, was co-written by and featured guitarist Wendy Melvoin and keyboardist Lisa Coleman, former members of Prince’s band The Revolution. Produced by Trevor Horn, it appeared as both the opening and closing cut on Seal’s self-titled 1994 album .

19: This Could Be Heaven (from ‘The Family Man: Music From The Motion Picture’, 2001)

This uplifting ballad with gospel overtones appeared on the soundtrack to The Family Man , a romantic fantasy comedy-drama starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. The song was originally intended to be released as part of Togetherland , an album that Seal’s record company persuaded him to shelve because they deemed it an uncommercial project. Asserting its place among the best Seal songs, This Could Be Heaven made No.23 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

18: Newborn Friend (from ‘Seal’, 1994)

“I wash my faith in dirty water,” sings Seal in a striking opening line which finds him examining himself and his beliefs, and concluding that he is trying to please others as opposed to being true to himself. Through his soul-searching self-analysis, Seal decides that, if he is more honest with himself, he’ll lose his doubt and cynicism and gain an optimistic innocence; he will become a “newborn friend for the world”.

17: Don’t Cry (from ‘Seal’, 1994)

Offering a comforting message of reassurance among the best Seal songs, Don’t Cry was the fourth and final single lifted from the singer’s second album, 1994’s Seal . A searing, dramatic power ballad , the song finds Seal’s plaintive vocals framed by Trevor Horn’s epic production style – a mesh of piano, synths, strings and even slivers of jazzy trumpet on the fade. The track reached No.4 on the US Adult Contemporary chart.

16: Secret (from ‘6: Commitment’, 2010)

This gentle self-penned ballad about a clandestine love affair was helmed by the Canadian producer David Foster, who had worked his magic on Seal’s 2008 album, the R&B covers set, Soul . Lifted as the first single from that record’s follow-up, 6: Commitment – which, despite its title, was Seal’s seventh album – Secret showed that, in the 21st century, the best Seal songs had begun to move away from the edginess of his earlier work, taking a sure-footed step toward the pop mainstream.

15: The Beginning (from ‘Seal’, 1991)

The aptly-titled opening track on Seal’s self-titled debut album , The Beginning was co-written by the singer with early collaborator Guy Sigsworth, and, with its exultant mood, pumping house beats and rousing anthemic chorus, had its crosshairs firmly fixed on the dancefloor. The third single lifted from Seal , The Beginning enjoyed a six-week chart run in the UK, peaking at No.24.

14: Stand By Me (from ‘Soul’, 2008)

After five albums of self-penned material, Seal’s sixth album, Soul, marked a stylistic departure by being devoted to cover versions of some of the best soul songs[https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/best-soul-songs/] of all time, ranging from Sam Cooke’s 1964 civil-rights anthem A Change Is Gonna Come to Deniece Williams’ 1976 hit, Free. Entering the ranks of the best Seal songs was an indelible repurposing of Ben E King’s Stand By Me[https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/stand-by-me-ben-e-king-song-story/], a much-loved tune that has spawned over 400 cover versions. Helmed by the multi-Grammy-winning Canadian pop producer David Foster, Seal’s version was no by-the-numbers karaoke-style rehash. Rather, it showed how the singer could convincingly inject a soulful authenticity into an iconic pop song.

After five albums of self-penned material, Seal’s sixth album, Soul, marked a stylistic departure by being devoted to cover versions of some of the best soul songs of all time, ranging from Sam Cooke’s 1964 civil-rights anthem A Change Is Gonna Come to Deniece Williams’ 1976 hit, Free. Entering the ranks of the best Seal songs was an indelible repurposing of Ben E King’s Stand By Me , a much-loved tune that has spawned over 400 cover versions. Helmed by the multi-Grammy-winning Canadian pop producer David Foster, Seal’s version was no by-the-numbers karaoke-style rehash. Rather, it showed how the singer could convincingly inject a soulful authenticity into an iconic pop song.

13: My Funny Valentine (from ‘Standards’, 2017)

After his success with two collections of R&B covers (2008’s platinum-selling Soul and its gold-selling sequel, 2011’s Soul 2), Seal turned his attention to the Great American Songbook with his tenth studio offering, Standards, which included his sensitive interpretation of Rodgers and Hart’s wistful 1930s ballad, My Funny Valentine. A surprising stylistic deviation from what he’d done before, the album was the realisation of a long-held desire to pay homage to Frank Sinatra. “This is the album I have always wanted to make,” Seal said at the time. “I grew up listening to music from the Rat Pack era, so recording these timeless tunes was a lifelong dream.”

12: It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (from ‘Soul’, 2008)

Seal pushed his voice to do things he’d never done before – like singing in a falsetto range – on the Soul album, which included a fine remake of It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World, the iconic James Brown number that the “Godfather Of Soul” took to the top of the US R&B charts in 1966. Producer David Foster had helmed records by soul singers Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, and this track holds a distinguished place among the best Seal songs, thanks to the dynamic string and horn arrangements by veteran jazz arranger Don Sebesky.

11: Violet (from ‘Seal’, 1991)

Meandering along like a woozy, blissful daydream, Violet is a freewheeling mood piece in which synths and an acoustic piano entwine over a gently percolating drum beat. Impressionistic and richly evocative, the eight-and-a-half-minute track shows Seal at his jazziest; the mysterious atmosphere is deepened by fragments of movie dialogue woven into the musical fabric, all plucked from director Michael Cimino’s 1987 movie, The Sicilian , starring Christopher Lambert as a bandit who seeks to liberate Sicily from Italy. Apparently, Seal was so taken with the film that it inspired him to write Violet, which closed his debut album on a mellow high. A stripped-down acoustic rendition of the track (just piano and voice) was released as Seal’s fifth single, reaching No.39 in February 1992.

10: Human Beings (from ‘Human Being’, 1998)

Four years passed between the release of Seal’s second album, Seal, and his third, Human Beings , which saw him return to the studio with über-producer Trevor Horn. The album’s title track, with its fusion of intense emotion and high production values, focuses on the fragility of human life and was inspired by the tragic deaths of US rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G , showing how the best Seal songs could also engage with real-word events, with effective results.

9: Future Love Paradise (from ‘Seal’, 1991)

The second single from Seal’s eponymous debut album, this self-penned track, built on a churning bassline, is a utopian hymn that finds the singer envisioning a better world where “all the queens will gather round spreading love and unity”. Featuring his rugged, emotive vocals, framed by Horn’s cinematic production values, Future Love Paradise was issued as the lead song on the three-track Future Love EP, and it rose to No.12 in the UK.

8: Get It Together (from ‘Seal IV’, 2003)

Co-written with co-producer Mark Batson, this anthem espousing unity and positive vibes exuded an old-school R&B feel, with traces of 70s soul giants Curtis Mayfield and Al Green in its musical DNA. The track was the first single lifted from Seal IV, an album that came in the wake of an aborted collection of songs called Togetherland that was scheduled for a 2001 release before being shelved. One of the best Seal songs of the era, Get It Together put the singer back in the UK Top 30 after a seven-year absence. In the US, it topped Billboard ’s dance chart.

7: Amazing (from ‘System’, 2007)

Seal was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category with this track, the lead single from his fifth album, System , which had the distinction of being his first record not to involve producer and mentor Trevor Horn. (Stuart Price, who had previously worked with Madonna, New Order , and The Killers, handled production). An anthemic tune welded to a dance beat, Amazing topped the US dance listing and hit the Top 10 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

6: Fly Like An Eagle (from ‘Space Jam: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture’, 2004)

Featured in the 1996 movie Space Jam , and later included on Best: 1991-2004 , Fly Like An Eagle was Seal’s tasteful reworking of a song that US rock musician Steve Miller wrote and took into the Top 5 of the US pop charts in 1976. Seal was persuaded to record it by the movie’s executive producer; his version featured future neo-soul architect D’Angelo on keyboards and also sampled part of a synthesiser track called Space Intro, from Miller’s Fly Like An Eagle album. Picked for single release, Seal’s take on Fly Like An Eagle soared to No.10 in the US Hot 100 and landed at No.13 in the UK. Seal later revealed that Miller called to thank him for reviving the song, describing it as “the best cover of the song that he had heard”.

5: Prayer For The Dying (from ‘Seal’, 1994)

In an unusual move, Seal gave his second album the same title as his debut record, though his fans quickly distinguished it from its predecessor by dubbing it “Seal II”. The set’s lead single was Prayer For The Dying, an upbeat pop-funk anthem about “playing with fire and not getting burned”, and prising hope from the jaws of despair. Easily one of the best Seal songs, it rose to No.3 on Billboard ’s American Alternative Airplay chart and reached No.2 in Canada.

4: Love’s Divine (From ‘Seal IV’, 2003)

In this uplifting beat ballad co-written with US songwriter Mark Batson – whose credits range from Alicia Keys to Eminem – Seal sings about the empowering quality of love and its role in facilitating personal redemption, while producer Trevor Horn creates a widescreen backdrop with soaring strings and celestial keyboards. The second single from Seal IV , Love’s Divine offered a transcendental listening experience that topped US dance chart.

3: Killer (From ‘Seal,’ 1991)

This hypnotic track, with its heavy, ominous beat, helped introduce Seal to the wider world: a complete unknown, he co-wrote and provided guest vocals on acid-house DJ and producer Adamski’s original 1990 recording, which topped the UK singles chart. Seal’s own version of Killer was issued in late 1991 as the fourth single from his debut album, and it peaked at No.8 in the UK, courtesy of a sweepingly cinematic production from Trevor Horn. An army of remixers had an opportunity to tweak the track for the dance market, including William Orbit, whose throbbing house version reached No.9 on the US dance chart. In 2005, a set of newly commissioned remixes unleashed Killer on the public again, propelling it to the top of Billboard ’s Hot Dance Club Play listing.

2: Crazy (from ‘Seal’, 1991)

Defined by oblique lyrics suggesting that humans thrive when they think and act “outside the box”, Crazy is said to have been written by Seal in 1989, after the singer watched two cataclysmic events on TV: students protesting about the Chinese government in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square; and the collapse of Eastern European communism, as symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Crazy was released in late 1990 as Seal’s debut single and offers an inspired collision of soulful vocals on a funked-up bed of dazzling keyboards sculpted by Trevor Horn’s high-tech production values. The song peaked at No.2 in the UK during a 15-week chart run.

1: Kiss From A Rose (from ‘Seal’, 1994)

Topping our countdown of the best Seal songs is an iconic track imbued with a medieval folk flavour that the London-born singer-songwriter wrote back in 1987, four years before he signed a record deal. Initially viewing the song as an unconvincing experiment, Seal later admitted he was embarrassed by it, and discarded the track until being pressured by Horn to include it on his second album, 1994’s Seal . Kiss From A Rose was released as the set’s second single, and its popularity rapidly ballooned after it was featured in the soundtrack to the hit movie Batman Forever, which helped it climb to No.4 in the UK and No.1 in the US. Despite his initial reservation about the song – which, stylistically, went against the grain of 90s pop – to date, Kiss From A Rose is Seal’s most-streamed track on Spotify.

Read the full story behind Kiss From A Rose .

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