"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

's second eponymous album. The song was first released as a single in July 1994 and included in the film ''

The NeverEnding Story III ''The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia'' (also known as: ''The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia'') is a 1994 fantasy-adventure film. It is the third and final film in the franchise. It stars Jason James Richter as Bastian Balth ...

'' that year. It was re-released a year later in 1995 as part of the ''Batman Forever'' film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the United States and Australia. It also reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada, France, Iceland and Norway. At the

1996 Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, in ...

, it won awards for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Background

"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 Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

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". "Kiss from a Rose" was the second single taken from the ''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

'' film soundtrack, and topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week in August 1995. It also went to number four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, where it had originally reached number 20 in 1994. It also was nominated for the

MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie The MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Moment is an award presented to singers/groups for quality songs in films at the MTV Movie Awards, a ceremony established in 1992. Honors in several categories are awarded by MTV at the annual ceremonies, and a ...

in 1996. Seal talked about the long, strange journey that the song went through on ''The

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

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 Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...

subsequently called Seal, and requested use of the song to play over a love scene between the characters played by

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

and

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

in ''Batman Forever''.

Critical reception

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented: "Sealed with a kiss, here you get a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

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". Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' 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". 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 Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

, stating simply: "I have avoided explaining these lyrics for over 25 years. I am not going to start doing it now".

Music video

Two versions of the music video were produced: * The original version is set in a

photographic studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. Since the early years of the 20th ce ...

and was co-directed by

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

and William Levin. The 1966 film ''

Blowup ''Blowup'' (sometimes styled as ''Blow-up'' or ''Blow Up'') is a 1966 mystery drama thriller film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and produced by Carlo Ponti. It was Antonioni's first entirely English-language film, and stars David Hemming ...

'' was heavily referenced in the video. * The second version was directed by

and has Seal performing the song beside the

Bat-Signal The Bat-Signal is a distress signal device appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as a means to summon the superhero, Batman. It is a specially modified searchlight with a stylized emblem of a bat affixed to the light, allowing ...

, interspersed with clips from the film ''

''. 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 listing

Between all the formats of the single release, bonus tracks include the non-album tracks "

The Wind Cries Mary "The Wind Cries Mary" is a rock ballad written by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix wrote the song as a reconciliatory love song for his girlfriend in London, Kathy Mary Etchingham. More recent biographical material indicated that some of the lyrics appeared ...

" (a

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

cover) and "Blues in 'E'"; remixes of "Kiss from a Rose" by

Adamski Adam Paul Tinley (born 4 December 1967), known professionally as Adamski, as well as Sonny Eriksson, is an English DJ, musician, singer and record producer, prominent at the time of acid house for his tracks " N-R-G" and "Killer", a collaborati ...

(who produced the original version of "

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

"); and remixes of album track "I'm Alive" by Steve Fitzmaurice and Sasha with BT. * "Kiss from a Rose" – 3:38 * "Kiss from a Rose" – 4:47

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiss From A Rose 1990s ballads 1994 singles 1994 songs 1995 singles Batman (1989 film series) Batman music Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Contemporary R&B ballads Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for Record of the Year Grammy Award for Song of the Year Number-one singles in Australia Pop ballads Seal (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Songs written by Seal (musician) Warner Records singles ZTT Records singles Songs about flowers Songs about kissing