THISDAYonline

Life, for the first and only Nigerian-born musician to win the prestigious US Grammy award is back on an upward swing, after a super flop effort released in 1998, cut short his quick rise on the global music scene.

Born Seal Henry Samuel, Seal, a London-based soul vocalist, won international acclaim with hit songs such as, 'Crazy' and 'Kiss from a Rose' in the latter part of the last decade.

The year 1996 was Seal's golden year, then hardwork and resilience in the face of several rejections had paid off with his songs catapulting and sustaining him on the U.S singles chart for 12 weeks. While still basking in the glow and glamour of new found fame, he went on to win three Grammy awards, for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. While on this height, Seal's 'Kiss from a Rose' was used as the soundtrack in the phenomenally successful movie 'Batman'.

But stardom was cut short in 1998, after he released 'Human Beings' an album where which he eulogised slain American rap artists, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

The album was so badly received that it could not even break into the US Top 20 Chart. So much, that a promotional tour arranged to publicise the album which Seal would later refer to, derisively, as the, "album ten people bought" was cancelled for poor sales.

Sad at this turn of events, Seal relocated to Los Angeles where he tried to start life, song writing and singing afresh with a new album, 'Togetherland'. But this effort bore no fruit, and the first person to pass a vote of no confidence on the album was Seal himself. Midway into the production of this album, he tore it into shreds, abandoned its production and fled Los Angeles.

"To put it bluntly, it (Togetherland) wasn't good enough, so I scrapped it. I went back to England to try and rekindle that creative spirit and come up with something that bore some relevance to who I was," he had said during an interview. From Los Angeles, he moved back to England where he teamed up with the man who produced his hits, Steven Horns, to produce 'Vision' which premiered on September 9. Since it was released, 'Vision' has been doing well moving into Top Ten on the UK chart a week after its release and restoring Seal's life on the path of fame and fortune again.

Seal was born on February 19, 1963 in London, England, to a Nigerian father. Though he studied Architecture in a UK university, he took to music shortly after he returned from a sojourn in Nigeria. But his initial attempts to get a recording deal for his demos were rebuffed by several recording companies in the UK.

His solo debut, a single he called 'Crazy', launched him on the path of musical success. His deep penetrating voice struck a chord in the ears of music lovers all over the world and millions rushed to buy his albums.

"I am the guy that has this voice that people connect with. There is an emotional quality in my music that resonates with people. If there's no emotion or belief in the song or the delivery, then there is nothing."

His next album, which he recorded in Los Angeles, was also a big success as it sold three and a half million copies worldwide. These helped him to dominate the British musical awards of that year, winning several awards at the Brit Awards. His next album after the awards sold about 5 million copies. His last effort before the flop, a rework of Steve Miller's 'Fly Like an Eagle' was a major hit in the US.