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Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (; born 19 February 1963), known mononymously as Seal, is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the recipient of three Brit Awards, four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award, with more than 20 million albums or singles sold. He signed with record producer Trevor Horn's ZTT Records to release his eponymous debut studio album (1991). A critical and commercial success, it spawned the singles "Crazy" and "Killer", which peaked at numbers two and one on the UK singles chart, respectively, while both entered the US Billboard Hot 100. His 1994 single, "Kiss from a Rose", peaked atop the latter chart after its inclusion on the accompanying film soundtracks for The NeverEnding Story III and Batman Forever.

"Kiss from a Rose" spawned from Seal's second eponymous studio album (1994), which peaked atop the UK Albums Chart along with its predecessor. His following albums—Human Being (1998), Seal IV (2003), System (2007), Soul (2008), Seal 6: Commitment (2010), Soul 2 (2011), 7 (2015) and Standards (2017)—were each met with critical praise. As a songwriter, Seal has won two Ivor Novello Awards for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for "Killer" and "Crazy".

He served as a coach on The Voice Australia in 2012, 2013, and 2017.

Early life

Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born on 19 February 1963 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, to a Nigerian mother of Yoruba origin, Adebisi Ogundeji, and a Brazilian father, Francis Samuel. His middle names "Olusegun Olumide Adeola" are a combination of traditional given names from the Yoruba language. Seal was raised by a foster family in Westminster, London. He received a two-year diploma in architecture and had various jobs in the London area.

Career

Early career

In the 1980s, Seal spent a short time singing in local clubs and bars. In 1987, he joined Push, a British funk band, and toured with them in Japan. In Thailand, he joined a blues band for a while before separating from the group and journeying throughout India on his own. He returned to England, sleeping on the couch of friend Julian Bunster, then a model. He sometimes asked him, "Do I sing well?", to which he often received the response that he sang better than most current artists. Then he met the producer Adamski to whom Seal provided lyrics and vocals on Adamski's single "Killer".

Initial success: 1990s

"Killer" eventually reached number one in the UK. Seal subsequently signed to ZTT Records and released his self-titled début album (produced by Trevor Horn) in 1991. Two versions of the album are known to be in circulation: the original "premix" version and a second, more common version with an updated mix. This is attributed to the demand for a produced single rushing the final album edit and, as Seal puts it, producer Horn's "inability to let go".

Seal was positively received by critics. The singles "Crazy", "Future Love Paradise" and his own rendition of "Killer" performed well on the charts. In particular, "Crazy" became an international hit in 1991, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Seal stole the show at the 1992 Brit Awards held at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, with the first hat-trick of wins in the history of the event. He won in three categories: Best British Male, Best British Video ("Killer") and Best British Album (Seal).