Kiss from a Rose

"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from British singer-songwriter Seal's second eponymous album (1994). The song was first released as a single in July 1994 by ZTT, Sire and Warner Bros., and included in the film The NeverEnding Story III that year.

The song 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. The song also reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada, France, Iceland and Norway. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. ^[5] Two different music videos were produced to promote the single, directed by Matthew Rolston and Joel Schumacher, respectively.

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, stating simply: "I have avoided explaining these lyrics for over 25 years. I am not going to start doing it now". ^[6]

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". ^[7]

"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 also was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie in 1996. ^[8]

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.

Seal also shares the same birthday as fictional character Bruce Wayne / Batman on February the 19th.

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." ^[9] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel felt that "fairy-tale-ish melodies and harmonies" uplift the song. ^[10] Ian Gittins from Melody Maker noted its "would-be butterfly sigh". ^[11] Another Melody Maker editor, Andrew Mueller, named it "a nondescript wine bar ballad". ^[12] 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". ^[13]

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". ^[14] 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." ^[15] Another Smash Hits editor, Emma Cochrane, remarked that it "shows what an incredible range his voice has". ^[16]

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 of this version of the music video 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'." ^[17]

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

"Kiss from a Rose"
Single by Seal
from the album Seal (Seal II)
B-side	"The Wind Cries Mary" "Blues in 'E'" (1994)
Released	11 July 1994 [1]
Studio	Sarm West (London) Real World (Wiltshire) [2]
Genre	Rock [3] soul [3] baroque pop [4]
Length	4:47 (album version) 3:38 (radio edit)
Label	ZTT Sire Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Seal Samuel
Producer(s)	Trevor Horn
Seal singles chronology
"Prayer for the Dying" (1994) "Kiss from a Rose" (1994) "Newborn Friend" (1994)
1995 re-release
Batman Forever soundtrack single

Weekly charts Chart (1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [18] 87 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [19] 72 Europe (European AC Radio) [20] 9 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [21] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [22] 24 Scotland (OCC) [23] 20 UK Singles (OCC) [24] 20 UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [25] 12 Chart (1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [26] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [27] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [28] 36 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [29] 11 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [30] 2 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [31] 3 Denmark (IFPI) [32] 10 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [33] 12 France (SNEP) [34] 8 Germany (GfK) [35] 11 Hungary (Mahasz) [36] 6 Ireland (IRMA) [37] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [38] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [39] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [22] 16 Norway (VG-lista) [40] 3 Scotland (OCC) [41] with "I'm Alive" 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [42] 8 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [43] 7 UK Singles (OCC) [44] with "I'm Alive" 4 US Billboard Hot 100 [45] 1 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [46] 1 US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [47] 1 US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [48] 35 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [49] 52 US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [50] 1 US Rhythmic ( Billboard ) [51] 5 Chart (2008) Peak position Denmark (Tracklisten) [52] 6 Chart (2012) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [26] 31 Chart (2025) Peak position Israel International Airplay (Media Forest) [53] 15

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [54] 60 Chart (1995) Position Australia (ARIA) [55] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [56] 39 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [57] 71 Canada Top Singles (RPM) [58] 7 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) [59] 64 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [60] 31 France (SNEP) [61] 41 Germany (Media Control) [62] 66 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [63] 36 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [64] 42 Sweden (Topplistan) [65] 51 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [66] 47 UK Singles (OCC) [67] 39 US Billboard Hot 100 [68] 4 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) [69] 7 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard) [70] 4 US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard) [71] 34 Chart (1996) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) [72] 8 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) [73] 34 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard Hot 100 [74] 58

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [55]	Platinum	70,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [75]	Platinum	90,000‡
France (SNEP) [76]	Gold	250,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway) [77]	Gold
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [78]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [79]	2× Platinum	1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA) [80] (physical)	Gold	700,000 [81]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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. ^[82]

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. ^[83] Seal also appeared in the commercial playing the singing seal and as a passenger on the boat remarking about the singing seal. ^[84]

"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. ^[85]

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. ^[86]

See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1995 (U.S.)
• List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1995
• List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 1995 (U.S.)

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