Kiss from a Rose

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 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 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, where it had originally reached number 20 in 1994. It was also nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie in 1996.

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 reception

Melinda Newman from Billboard magazine wrote, "The swelling music of the sexy mid-tempo ballad 'Kiss from a Rose' hypnotizes as it enchants." Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel felt that "fairy-tale-ish melodies and harmonies" uplift the song. Ian Gittins from Melody Maker noted its "would-be butterfly sigh". Another Melody Maker editor, Andrew Mueller, named it "a nondescript wine bar ballad". 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".

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". Leesa Daniels from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five and named it Best New Single, saying, "A glorious ballad that will send shivers up and down your spine as soon as Seal opens his mouth. It's very atmospheric and moody, you can almost see the dry ice they'll use to death in the video. More importantly, it's one tune that you'll never, ever get bored of listening to." Another Smash Hits editor, Emma Cochrane, remarked that it "shows what an incredible range his voice has".

Music video

Two versions of the music video for "Kiss from a Rose" 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 was Neil Abramson.

Legacy

"Kiss from a Rose" was ranked number 90 on ''Entertainment Weekly'''s "The 100 Greatest Summer Songs", saying, "Imagine Al Green in Camelot: Hitching a medieval melody to an R&B soul, Seal delivered a stunner as haunted and timeless as 'Sea of Love'."

Track listing

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.

• "Kiss from a Rose" (radio edit) – 3:38
• "Kiss from a Rose" (album version) – 4:47

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

The song was used and reworked slightly for the Discovery Channel's Shark Week promo entitled "It's a bad Week to be a Seal" in 2017. Seal also appeared in the promo where he was performing on a platform, before he was eaten by a shark.

The song was featured and reworked slightly for the Mountain Dew Baja Blast commercial entitled "Kiss from a Lime" featuring Becky G during the Super Bowl LIX which aired in February 2025. Seal also appeared in the commercial playing the singing seal and as a passenger on the boat remarking about the singing seal.

"Kiss from a Rose" was also featured in "Studies in Modern Movement", a season three episode of Community, during a scene in which the characters Jeff and Dean Pelton perform the song at karaoke.

The song is featured in season 7, episode 3 of the Dropout improv comedy game show Game Changer. The host, Sam Reich, claimed it cost $15,000 to license the song.

A panflute cover of the song is featured prominently in the 2010 Ugandan action movie Who Killed Captain Alex?.

A rock cover of the song was released in 2022 by the band No Resolve and artist Kayla King.

Another rock cover of the song was released in 2024 by artist Jeris Johnson.

References

References

1. Vertex Effects. (19 September 2024). "SEAL Breaks Down His Biggest Hits". [[YouTube]].
2. Hunter, James. (2 November 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
3. Larkin, Colin. (1999). "All-Time Top 1000 Albums". [[Virgin Books]].
4. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com.
5. (18 November 2015). "Seal – Kiss From a Rose Lyrics". [[Genius (website).
6. "Kiss From A Rose by Seal Songfacts". Songfacts.com.
7. Newman, Melinda. (28 May 1994). "The Beat: Seal Delivers On Fab Sophomore Set; Recording Added To School Curriculum".
8. Campbell, Chuck (17 June 1994). "McLachlan Explores Love At Its Darkest". ''[[Knoxville News Sentinel]]''.
9. Gittins, Ian. (4 June 1994). "Albums".
10. Mueller, Andrew. (6 August 1994). "Singles".
11. (13 August 1994). "New Releases: Singles".
12. Jones, Alan. (15 July 1995). "Talking Music".
13. Daniels, Leesa. (5 July 1995). "Singles".
14. Cochrane, Emma. (25 May 1994). "New Albums".
15. (2009). "The 100 Greatest Summer Songs: Nos. 100–76".
16. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 16 Oct 1994". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
17. (13 August 1994). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
18. (24 September 1994). "Adult Contemporary Europe Top 25".
19. (27 August 1994). "EHR Top 40".
20. (1 September 1994). "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (01.9.–07.9. '94)". [[DV (newspaper).
21. (20 August 1994). "The Airplay Chart".
22. (28 October 1995). "Top National Sellers".
23. (7 October 1995). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
24. (2 September 1995). "EHR Top 40".
25. (21 October 1995). "Top National Sellers".
26. (29 July 1995). "Top 50 Airplay Hits".
27. [https://www.popmusichistory.co.uk/_files/ugd/b4848d_4f9128176360450ba51be67a0468e9fa.pdf Cash Box Chart Entries 1990-1996]
28. (2 March 2025). "מדיה פורסט {{ndash}} המצעד הבינלאומי השבועי {{ndash}} Week 9 {{ndash}} 23/02 {{ndash}} 1 March 2025". [[Media Forest]].
29. (2 January 1995). "Árslistinn 1994". [[DV (newspaper).
30. "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1995". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
31. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1995".
32. "Rapports annuels 1995". [[Ultratop]].
33. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995".
34. "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1995".
35. (23 December 1995). "Music & Media 1995 in Review – Year End Sales Charts".
36. (23 December 1995). "EHR Year-End Top 40—An Anglo-Yankee Affair".
37. "Tops de L'année {{!}} Top Singles 1995". [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
38. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1995". [[GfK Entertainment]].
39. "Single top 100 over 1995". Top40.
40. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995". [[Dutch Charts.
41. "Årslista Singlar, 1995". [[Sverigetopplistan]].
42. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1995".
43. (13 January 1996). "Top 100 Singles 1995".
44. (13 January 1996). "Airplay Top 50 of 1995".
45. "Billboard Top 100 – 1995".
46. (23 December 1995). "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks".
47. (15 December 1995). "The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles".
48. (15 December 1995). "The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover Top Titles".
49. (30 December 1995). "Cash Box Year-End Awards: Top 50 Pop Singles".
50. (28 December 1996). "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks".
51. (27 December 1996). "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks".
52. 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 (magazine).
53. (20 January 1996). "Best-Selling Records of 1995". BPI Communications.
54. (9 July 1994). "New Releases: Singles".
55. (21 August 1994). "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 22/08/94: Singles".
56. "シール {{!}} キス・フロム・ア・ローズ EP". [[Oricon]].
57. (26 May 1995). "Selected New Releases".
58. (1 July 1995). "New Releases: Singles".
59. "シール {{!}} キス・フロム・ア・ローズ EP". Oricon.
60. Petski, Denise. (15 June 2017). "Shark Week 2017: Programming Guide".
61. "Kiss From A Lime ft. SEAL, Becky G Super Bowl LIX Official Song of Mountain Dew Baja Blast". Mountain Dew.
62. "Kiss From A Lime ft. SEAL, Becky G Super Bowl LIX Official Song of Mountain Dew Baja Blast". Mountain Dew.
63. (12 November 2011). ""Studies In Modern Movement"".
64. Davis, Clayton. (5 May 2025). "'Game Changer' Recap: Episode 3 ('Earnest-est') Brings Joker Auditions, Drops Bits for Belly Buttons and Spends $15K on Seal Song".
65. Sarmiento, Rafael. (February 17, 2020). "Who Killed Captain Alex?: 10 Reasons To Watch It".
66. (November 17, 2022). "A Kiss from a Rose - Spotify".
67. (August 23, 2024). "A Kiss from a Rose - Spotify".