'I owe my career to Joel Schumacher': Seal explains story behind 'Kiss from a Rose'

The Grammy-winning singer Seal, who is widely known for his song 'Kiss From a Rose,' on Monday explained how the late director Joel Schumacher played a big-time role in making what was a flop song then, to an iconic hit later.

Seal recorded a video and shared it on Instagram as a gesture of tribute to 'Batman' film director, Joel Schumacher, who died in New York City on Monday morning after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 80, reported Variety.

The 57-year-old singer began the video by crooning 'Kiss from a Rose' - fourth song from his second album. The song was initially released in 1994, and then re-released in 1995, as a soundtrack for the movie 'Batman Forever.'

"Now what some of you may not know about that song is that it was a failure when it first got released," said the artist as he explained the significant drop of the song from the charts, bringing the promotion of the song to an end until the director's offer came into the picture.

Seal, recalling the telephone conversation with Joel Schumacher, added: "Seal, I'm a great fan of yours. I have just finished making the movie 'Batman Forever' and I'm looking for a song for the love scene. Do you have anything?"

Seal remembered having no songs in hand, however, he credited the rest to his manager who took up the in charge and with all his will, forwarded 'Kiss from a Rose' to the director, which eventually made it to the movie as the soundtrack.

"Joel had faith in the song. I think a lot of you all don't know about this, hence I'm making this video. It is a song that has pretty much defined my career, and perhaps, most known for. I owe my career a large part to Joel Schumacher who took a chance," the 'Crazy' singer said.

Earlier, actor Matthew McConaughey, too, remembered the late director and said his career would not have taken off if Schumacher had not taken a "chance" on him, and cast him as the lead in the 1996 released movie 'A Time to Kill.'

Joel Schumacher, a costume-designer turned director, contributed many films to the industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s that were not always critically acclaimed, however, was appreciated by the audience for capturing the feel of the era.

Schumacher's directorial credits include movies like 'The Lost Boys,' 'Falling Down,' as well as two 'Batman' films.

( With inputs from ANI )