Seal
Seal Samuel was born in Paddington, England in 1963. His parents were Adebisi Samuel, Nigerian immigrant and Francis Samuel, an Afro-Brazilian immigrant. While a child, Seal had a battle with lupus erythematosus that left him with distinctive facial scarring and hair loss.
After graduating with an architectural degree, Seal worked a variety of jobs around London. In his early years, he worked in electrical engineering and desiging leather clothing. He began to sing in local clubs and joined a funk band called Push. The group enabled him to travel the world as they toured Japan in the mid-80s. While in Asia, Seal joined a Thailand-based blues group and then traveled throughout India on his own.
Returning to England, Seal met Adamski, a house and techno producer, who had yet to gain a footing in England. Seal provided the lyrics and vocals for Adamski's 'Killer' and the track propelled to number one in 1990.
His successful collaboration with Adamski helped Seal to sign a record deal. He recorded his self-titled debut album and released its first single, 'Crazy' in 1991. The single performed well, reaching #7 on the Hot 100. The album performed well, selling over a million copies in the United States and more than three million worldwide.
Seal then spent three years working on his second album. He released it in 1994 and it was also titled Seal. It started strong thanks to the hit single 'Prayer For The Dying' which reached #21 on the Hot 100 and helped the album reach platinum status. A year after its release, the album was fueled with life as the single 'Kiss From A Rose' was featured as a single for the Batman Forever soundtrack. The single hit #1 on the Hot 100 and drove the album to tremendous sales of over 4 million copies.
Scoring further success with movie soundtracks, 'Fly Like An Eagle' from the movie Space Jam reached #10 on the Hot 100. The following year, after experiencing difficulties with his label and producer Horn, Seal signed with Warner Brothers Records. He released the album Human Being in 1998 to lackluster sales. The album was panned by critics and failed to make any impression. It eventually went gold.
In 2001, Seal's planned fourth album, Togetherland, was cancelled. Conflicting stories followed the album as some say Seal felt it didn't make the grade while others report that the album was turned down by the label.
Regardless, in 2003, Seal cmae back in full force with his third self-titled album, Seal. The album went gold and helped bring Seal back into public view. The album had several dance hits with 'Get It Together,' 'Waiting For You' and 'Love's Divine' all topping the Hot Dance Music charts. In addition, 'Love's Divine' reached #3 on the Adult Contemporary charts and 'Waiting For You' reached #20.
Seal married Heidi Klum in 2005 and had a son, Henry Samuel later that year. He announced in mid 2006 that they were expecting another child.