Seal

Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, known professionally as "Seal", is a British singer and songwriter who has sold over 20 million records worldwide.

Although his earliest material still showed signs of acid house, by the mid-'90s he had created a distinctive fusion of soul, folk, pop, dance, and rock that brought him success on both sides of the Atlantic.

The son of Nigerian and Brazilian parents, Seal was raised in England. After graduating with an architectural degree joined an English funk band called "Push," with which he toured Japan in the mid-'80s.

Upon returning to England, Seal met Adamski, a house and techno producer. Seal provided the lyrics and vocals for Adamski's "Killer," which became a number one hit in 1990. After "Killer" became a hit, Seal signed a solo record contract.

He recorded his debut album, Seal, in 1991 with Trevor Horn, who had previously worked with ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and the Buggles. The first single pulled from the album, "Crazy," became a number 15 hit in the U.K. and reached number seven in America upon its release. The later released album was also a success, reaching number 24 in America and selling over three million copies around the world.

After the success of his debut, Seal took three years to complete his second album. In between the two records, he appeared on the Jimi Hendrix tribute album "Stone Free", singing on Jeff Beck's version of "Manic Depression."

In the summer of 1994, he released his second album, which was also titled "Seal". Preceded by the American Top 40 hit "Prayer for the Dying," the album did well upon its release, peaking at number 20 and selling a million copies by the spring of 1995. This album featured Seal's most famous track, "Kiss From a Rose."

"Kiss From a Rose" became a number one pop single in America and spent a total of 12 weeks at the top of the adult contemporary charts; the single spent a total of 45 weeks on the adult contemporary charts. Its success sent its parent album, Seal, into multi-platinum status; two years after its original release, the album had sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. "Kiss From a Rose" also landed Seal his first two Grammy nominations and awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 1996.

In addition to these albums, Seal has released five other original albums. "Human Being" hit the shelves in 1998 with "Seal IV" following five years later in 2003. These were followed by "System" (2007), "Seal 6: Commitment" (2010), and "7" (2015). Seal has also recorded three cover albums: "Soul" (2008), "Soul 2" (2011), and "Standards" (2017).

Seal has also served as a judge on the Australian version of The Voice for Season 1 (2012), Season 2 (2013), and Season 6 (2017). During this time, his team won twice with singers Karise Eden and Harrison Craig.