Kiss from a Rose

"Kiss from a Rose"
Single by Seal
from the album Seal II and Batman Forever: Music from the Motion Picture
B-side
Released
  • 18 July 1994 (UK)
  • 6 June 1995 (U.S.)
  • 3 July 1995 (UK re-release)
Format CD single
Recorded 1994
Genre
Length
  • 4:47 (album version)
  • 3:38 (Batman Forever film edit)
Label
Writer(s) Seal
Producer(s) Trevor Horn
Seal singles chronology
"Prayer for the Dying"
(May 1994)

"Newborn Friend"
(Oct 1994)
"Kiss from a Rose"
(Jul 1994)

"Kiss from a Rose"/"I'm Alive"
(Jul 1995)
"Newborn Friend"
(Oct 1994)

"Don't Cry"/"Prayer for the Dying"
(Nov 1995)
1995 re-release
Batman Forever soundtrack single
"Kiss from a Rose"

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"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album. The song was first released as a single in July 1994. Re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the U.S. and Australia. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.[1]

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."[2]

"Kiss from a Rose" was the second single taken from the Batman Forever film soundtrack, and topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for one week in August 1995. It also went to number four on the UK Singles Chart. The single originally made it to #20 in 1994, but upon being re-released after being featured in the film, it reached the top position. It also won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie in the 1996 edition.[3] 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. Although the song was eventually not incorporated into this scene, it was instead used to play over the end credits; Seal believes this change contributed to the song's eventual popularity.

Music video

Two versions of the music video were produced:

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.

Cover versions

Cultural references

In season 2, episode 7 ("A Bottle of Jean Nate") of Shameless, "Kiss from a Rose" is revealed as Jody's go-to love-making song; he's first seen having sex with Karen while listening to the song, and later to Sheila, Karen's mother.[12]

In season 5, episode 7 ("The Gang Wrestles for the Troops") of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dee plans to greet a returning U.S. soldier she's been chatting with online with her alias "Desert Rose" by bringing roses, dressing up in a red dress with green stockings, and playing Seal's "Kiss from a Rose". When Dee runs away because he's in a wheelchair, Frank ends up playing the song and giving the soldier a gift of jean shorts for his services and salutes him, making the moment awkward for the soldier.[13]

In season 3, episode 7 of Community, Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) and dean Craig Pelton (Jim Rash) are seen singing "Kiss from a Rose". Later in the episode the rest of the characters make fun of Jeff since the dean has tweeted their duet.[14]

In season 5, episode 17 ("The Death Of The Queen Bee") of Bones, the song is featured in Temperance's reunion where she and Booth do a slow dance to the song. As the song starts in the background, Brennan eagerly requests Booth to dance with her, saying "Can we dance, Booth? It's Seal!"

In the 2015 film, Vacation, the song is repeatedly sung by its characters.

Video games

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 87
Canadian Singles Chart 22
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[15] 24
UK Singles Chart[16] 20
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[17] 1
Austrian Singles Chart[17] 3
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[17] 36
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[17] 11
Canadian Singles Chart 2
Danish Singles Chart[17] 6
Dutch Top 40[18] 4
French SNEP Singles Chart[17] 8
German Singles Chart[19] 11
Irish Singles Chart[20] 4
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[15] 16
Norwegian Singles Chart[17] 3
Swedish Singles Chart[17] 8
Swiss Singles Chart[17] 7
UK Singles Chart[16] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[21] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[21] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs[21] 52
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[21] 35
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[21] 5
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[21] 1
Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[22] 57
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 31
Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[23] 67

Year-end charts

Chart (1995) Position
Austrian Singles Chart[24] 39
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[25] 71
Dutch Top 40[18] 36
French Singles Chart[26] 41
Swiss Singles Chart[27] 47
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[28] 4

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[29] 58

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[30] Platinum 70,000^
France (SNEP)[31] Gold 250,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 400,000^
United States (RIAA)[33]
(physical)
Gold 700,000[34]
United States (RIAA)[33]
(digital)
Gold 500,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. "Seal – Kiss From a Rose Lyrics". Genius. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  3. "Kiss From A Rose by Seal Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  4. Sullivan, Caroline (16 June 2006). "Trinití, Trinití". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  5. Jack Black performing "Kiss from a Rose" on an American Idol charity special in 2007 on YouTube
  6. "Northern Kings - Kiss From A Rose". Youtube.
  7. "IDINA MENZEL- Kiss From A Rose". YouTube. 9 November 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  8. http://www.mytaratata.com/Pages/VIDEO_page_video.aspx?sig=iLyROoafMr1H mytaratata.com
  9. Collar, Matt. "Under the Influence - Straight No Chaser". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  10. Fearofdark. "Kiss from a Rose (VRC6 Cover)". Soundcloud. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  11. Fearofdark. "Fearofdark's Folder". Chiptune Up!. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  12. Sullivan, Patrick. "Shameless: I'm on a Boat!". TV.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  13. Sims, David. "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  14. VanDerWerff, Todd. "Studies in Modern Movement". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. 1 2 Kiss From A Rose in NZ Singles Chart charts.org.nz (1994-1995). Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  16. 1 2 UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (1994), Chartstats.com (1995) . Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Kiss from a Rose", in various singles charts Lescharts.com . Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  18. 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  19. "Seal singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  20. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie . Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Billboard Allmusic.com . Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  22. "Seal". Official Charts Company. 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  23. "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100 - 9th November 2013". Official Charts Company. 2 November 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  24. 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at . Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  25. 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be . Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  26. 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com . Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  27. 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch . Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  28. "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  29. 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.
  30. Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book 1993-2005. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-45889-2.
  31. "French single certifications – Seal – Kiss from a Rose" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  32. "British single certifications – Seal – Kiss from a Rose". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Kiss from a Rose in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  33. 1 2 "American single certifications – Seal – Kiss from a Rose". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  34. "Best-Selling Records of 1995". Billboard (BPI Communications) 108 (3): 56. January 20, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.

External links

Preceded by
"Waterfalls" by TLC
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
26 August 1995
Succeeded by
"You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson
Preceded by
"I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts
Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
26 August 1995 – 11 November 1995
Succeeded by
"As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B. Hawkins
Preceded by
"Insensitive" by Jann Arden
Australian ARIA number-one single
26 August 1995 – 7 October 1995
Succeeded by
"Fantasy" by Mariah Carey
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