These are the stories behind your most memorable songs.
Seal was born in 1963 in London to parents who were a combination of Nigerian and Brazilian heritage. His legal name is Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel. His childhood was not always pleasant, as he was put into foster care for a while before being reunited with his birth parents. However, that reunion was short-lived due to physical and emotional abuse handed down by his biological father. Being the subject of abuse can leave lasting scars on a person but, in the case of Seal, it caused him to adopt the attitude that he, as an adult, would strive to behave differently. As a result, he took a solemn personal oath to do no harm to others and, instead, promised to become a person that others could depend and rely upon. As if to prove his own point, Seal has generally lived a controversy-free life in the eyes of the tabloids even though he has had a highly successful music career and enjoyed a high-profile marriage (to supermodel Heidi Klum) for well over a decade.
His music career was slow to start. Like many aspiring musicians, Seal bounced around from band to band during his early twenties. He even traveled through Asia and into India as part of his journey toward finding the right fit for him as a singer. Finally, upon returning to London in the late 1980s, Seal began making guest singing appearances for other artists and bands and, as a result came to the attention of a music producer named Adamski. Through his connection with Adamski, Seal sang a song called “Killer”. This song rose all the way to the top of the UK charts which, as one would expect, brought Seal to the attention of the record buying public. Soon, Seal was signed to his own recording contract and the rest is history. He has sold over 20 million records worldwide and has enjoyed numerous Top Ten hits with songs such as “Crazy”, “Prayer For The Dying”, “Love’s Divine”, “Amazing”, the multi award winning song, “Kiss From a Rose” and, of course, today’s nominated song, “Waiting For You”. Over the course of his career, Seal has won four Ivor Novello awards for songwriting and for the single of the year in the UK. He has also won three Brit Awards and four Grammy Awards in the US.
The song, “Waiting For You” was nominated by my friend, Deb Wilton. This song comes from the album, Seal IV, which was his fourth studio album. When this song was first brought to my attention as a possible Reader’s Choice entry, I asked Deb what it was about “Waiting For You” that did it for her. She replied that “to me, this is one of the most technically perfect songs of all time. I love how it starts very simply, builds to an amazing crescendo and then fades away. I could listen to it and to this amazing voice, over and over”. I agree with Deb’s assessment. The sound of Seal’s voice, along with his superb ability to control the pitch and power of it, is part of what makes him so special as a singer. There are no histrionics involved in his singing. It is all silky smooth, powerful and completely under his control at all times. As male singers go, Seal is easily one of the best ever.
Thanks to Deb for nominating such an elegant song. It is always a pleasure to showcase such a tremendously talented performer as Seal. “Waiting For You” is a wonderful song that I know will bring a smile to your face and a warm feeling to your heart. As always, if any of you have a special song you would like for me to profile then, by all means, drop me a line in the comments box below and I will see what I can do. Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I appreciate your presence at my blog space. Have a great day!
The link to the video for the song, “Waiting For You” by Seal can be found here.
The link to the official website for Seal can be found here.
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Beautiful
I could listen to him sing all day long. Great voice!