acts for the all star finale singing “We Are
the Champions.”
In 1992 Seal appeared on the Red Hot
Organization’s compilation CD Red Hot
+ Dance, contributing an exclusive track
“Crazy (If I Was Trev Mix).” The album,
featuring George Michael andMadonna
among others, raised money and awareness in support of the AIDS epidemic by
donating all proceeds to AIDS charities.He
rubbed shoulders with English blues guitar
legend Jeff Beck when they collaborated
on the Hendrix song ‘Manic Depression’
for the Jimi Hendrix tribute album, ‘Stone
Free’ (1993).
His second album, also self-titled, was
released in 1994. A success, the album
featured the singles “Prayer for the Dying”
and “Newborn Friend”, later receiving a
Grammy nomination for Album of the
Year. “Prayer for the Dying” became a minor pop hit in the U.S., peaking at #21 on
the Billboard charts. A third single, “Kiss
from a Rose”, performed modestly when
released but was later featured to much
wider popularity when it was remixed for
the soundtrack to Batman Forever. “Kiss
from a Rose” won a Grammy Award for
Record of the Year and Grammy Award for
Song of the Year in 1996, becoming Seal’s
best performing single on the US market
(it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in late
August 1995) and hit number four in the
UK.[15][17]
In 1998 Seal released Human Being. The
album was the product of a turbulent time
in his life, including a split and later reconciliation with producer Horn as well as
Seal’s parting with ZTT Records and his
signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1997.
The record was panned upon its release. It
received Gold record certification by the
RIAA just two months after its release date.
The album provided three singles, “Human
Beings”, “Latest Craze”, and “Lost My Faith”.
In 2001 fans awaited the arrival of a new
album, announced as Togetherland. After
a protracted post-production period the
album was cancelled. The official word was
that Seal simply didn’t think it made the
grade, although this conflicts with other reports that said the album was turned down
by the label because producers felt the
album wouldn’t be commercially successful. Even so, one single was released from
the album.
“This Could Be Heaven” was released in
the US and featured on The Family Man
soundtrack. Since December 2006, Seal has
indicated that he has plans to excerpt cuts
from Togetherland and make them available for streaming download. Meanwhile,
Seal co-wrote and provided vocals for the
hit single “My Vision” from Jakatta in 2002.
He also recorded a successful duet with
French icon Mylène Farmer called “Les
Mots” during that same period.
In 2003 Seal released his fourth album,
which was again self-titled, except for Australia, where it was released under the title
Seal IV.
Although it never achieved the sales figures
of either of his first two albums, this release
brought him back into the public eye in
the United States and continental Europe.
Singles from the album included “Waiting
For You,” “Get It Together,” and “Love’s
Divine;” this last was released in 2004, and
was a big hit in several European countries
package, simply titled Live in Paris.