Format CD single Genre Pop
R&B
soul | Recorded 1994 | |
B-side "The Wind Cries Mary"
"Blues in 'E'" (1994) Released 18 July 1994 (UK)
6 June 1995 (U.S.)
3 July 1995 (UK re-release) Length 4:47 (album version)
3:38 (Batman Forever film edit) | ||
"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.
Contents
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 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 The single originally made it to #20 in 1994, but upon being re-released after being featured in the film, it reached the top position.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. 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
In popular culture
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.
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.
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.
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 (fifth entry in National Lampoon's Vacation franchise), the song is a favorite of Rusty Griswold (played by Ed Helms).
In season 1, episode 6 ("Marcia, Marcia, Marcia") of American Crime Story, the song plays when Marcia (Sarah Paulson) is getting her hair done at a salon, and again as she walks into the courtroom with her new look, the next day.