Seal

How do you become a superstar? When you're Seal, you just take it one giant step at a time. It was 1990 when the British-born lad with Nigerian/Brazilian roots collaborated with producer Adamski on the dance smash "Killer." A year later, he hit his first solo shot out of the park, settling into the Top 10 with "Crazy," a piece of pop-soul perfection sporting a gorgeous groove, shimmering atmospherics, and a spontaneously addictive chorus. Sure, he took his time getting back to the top, but the GRAMMY®-winning "Kiss from a Rose" was worth the wait.

You know you're dealing with genuine musical genius when the album cuts and rarities are every bit as amazing as the hits. With its ethereal acoustic guitar and lyrics that manage to sound impossibly romantic without going all gooey, "Come See What Love Has Done" should be considered a stone Seal classic. Meanwhile, the artist pays his respects to Jimi Hendrix with a knockout vocal on "The Wind Cries Mary," and paints in shades of Detroit soul on "Just Like You Said."

He was born Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, and already had, among other things, an architectural degree, a career as a clothing designer, and world travels under his belt when he exploded onto the pop scene with his 1991 self-titled debut album. Frankly, we're glad that Seal chose a career in music, being that he possesses a rare genius for songs that meld the best parts of pop, soul, rock, and dance music to create something entirely new. On everything from hits, like the heart-searing "Prayer for the Dying," to hidden treasures, like the shimmering soundtrack one-off "This Could Be Heaven," to dazzling acoustic covers ("Life on Mars") and studio-perfect live tracks (a killer "Hey Joe"), Seal takes the music he loves and makes it unmistakably his own.