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" Twenty years ago today, Seal descended from the heavens and released a 4:47-length single that would result in a score of parodies to this classic bad-in-a-good-way song. &amp;quot;Kiss from a Rose&amp;quot; was actually released in the UK in 1994 (from Seal II), but it didn&amp;#039;t chart well. Enter director Joel Schumacher, who came along and inserted the song over the end credits of his technicolored film Batman Forever (released June 16, 1995), and included it on the film&amp;#039;s soundtrack, a solid set featuring Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, U2, Brandy, and Mazzy Star. The movie was a hit, but Schumacher&amp;#039;s interpretation generated a lot of fan rancor because it was when the Batman franchise started sucking. &amp;quot;Rose&amp;quot; played incessantly on the radio, becoming the earworm song of the summer and beyond. The song was so huge, it went on to win three Grammys and hit number one. Maybe part of the song&amp;#039;s success had to do with Seal 86&amp;#039;ing his futuristic-cult-leader look in &amp;quot;Crazy&amp;quot; and rebranding himself as a sex symbol\u2014ripping his shirt off, going bald, and declaring himself worthy of future wife/ex-wife Heidi Klum.  But what is it about &amp;quot;Kiss from a Rose&amp;quot; that endures? It&amp;#039;s a wistful paean to the color gray, with nonsensical lyrics (I always thought he was singing &amp;quot;a grain tower,&amp;quot; not &amp;quot;a graying tower,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;a kiss from a rose on the grave,&amp;quot; not &amp;quot;gray.&amp;quot;). It&amp;#039;s a song that exudes schlock yet is torchy and dramatic enough to be effective in karaoke. For all of the terrible covers out there such as a prog version, John Williams&amp;#039; strings, and John Tesh&amp;#039;s wind-instrument version, it&amp;#039;s the cheekier ones that reign supreme, from Community to the caustic Always Sunny to a drunk dude serenading his cat. Today, &amp;quot;Kiss from a Rose&amp;quot; permanently clings to us and refuses to let go. Dean Pelton and Jeff on Community (2011)      In &amp;quot;Studies in Modern Movement,&amp;quot; the seventh episode of season three, Jeff (Joel McHale) feigns illness so he doesn&amp;#039;t have to help the rest of the Greendale gang move Annie in with Abed and Troy. Jeff goes shopping and runs into Dean Pelton (Jim Rash), who discovers his ruse and blackmails him into singing green-screen karaoke. At first Jeff&amp;#039;s reluctant, but then really gets into it, as stock nature scenes float by. It&amp;#039;s more of an affectionate tribute to &amp;quot;Rose&amp;quot; than a parody, but the montage interspersed with the karaoke is hilarious, along with the next karaoke song being Christopher Cross&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Sailing.&amp;quot;  Jack Black on American Idol (2007)      Black appeared on American Idol and sang the song in front of Seal, who gave it his &amp;quot;Seal of approval.&amp;quot; Hah. Sweet Dee on It&amp;#039;s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2009)      In the episode &amp;quot;The Gang Wrestles for the Troops,&amp;quot; Sweet Dee uses the screen name Desert Rose to communicate online with Ben the Soldier, a soldier stationed in Iraq who&amp;#039;s finally coming home. While she waits for his bus to arrive, she wears a red dress and preps a boombox to play &amp;quot;Kiss From a Rose.&amp;quot; Disgusted at the sight of his ostensibly disabled body in a wheelchair, Dee flees the scene, but Frank gifts the soldier a pair of jorts and plays the song anyway. Later on, Dee discovers Ben wasn&amp;#039;t disabled after all, and at a wrestling match she starts to sing &amp;quot;Rose&amp;quot; to him until a wrestler (Cricket) breaks her nose.  A Drunk Guy Sings to His Unreceptive Cat (2012)      Probably one of the most amazing YouTube videos ever uploaded, an intoxicated fellow crawls on the floor and does the verboten: He holds down his kitty and sings loudly to it. Not only do cats hate to be restrained, but they also hate to be serenaded. Eventually the cat gets sick of its master&amp;#039;s bullshit and leaves the guy to pass out, to hopefully dream of a graying tower alone on the sea. This video has over 1.8 million views but a head-scratching 479 dislikes. If you dislike this video, then you&amp;#039;re probably a terrible person.  Jody on Shameless (2012)      In season two, episode seven, Jody has sex as &amp;quot;Kiss From a Rose&amp;quot; plays in the background, and he happens to climax during the best part of the song. Yes, this song makes people orgasm.  Plus: Seal&amp;#039;s Own Music Videos for the Song The Non-Batman Boring Version      Seal hooks up with a model. Snooze.  The Batman Forever Version, a.k.a the Good Version      Bare-chested and draped in billowy black satin, Seal concurrently sells sex and superheroes. The &amp;#039;90s were a weird time. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a35495/seal-kiss-from-a-rose-parodies/>