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CultureQuiet 12d · day 14

Tame Impala tackle Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" on Like a Version

Kevin Parker's band take on one of pop's hardest-to-cover ballads for Triple J's cover series, drawing an emoji nod from Seal himself.

newest coverage 12d agosummary written 12d ago5 pieces706 likes & upvotes35 comments NewswiresRedditMastodonBluesky

What to know

  • Kevin Parker's Tame Impala covered Seal's 1994 hit "Kiss from a Rose" for Triple J's Like a Version, his fourth appearance on the series.
  • Parker said the band nearly passed on the song because of its difficulty and Seal's distinctive voice, ultimately choosing to perform it in their own style.
  • Seal's Instagram account acknowledged the cover with clapping emojis, though the artist reportedly outsources his social posting.
  • Online reaction has focused on the technical difficulty of reproducing the song note-for-note.

“Once we accepted that none of us sound like Seal — none of us have the insane voice that he does — once we were content with it's us, it's a bunch of Aussie blokes doing it, then I think we were at peace with it. We're just gonna do the best we can.”

Kevin Parker, Tame Impala frontman · Stereogum ↗ · Oct 29

Kevin Parker Tame Impala frontmanSeal Original artist of "Kiss from a Rose"Triple J Australian radio station hosting Like a Version

Tame Impala tackle Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" on Like a Version
stereogum.com

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in 4h at Oct 30, 3 PM; 5 pieces over 14 days (2 articles · 3 posts) Oct 29, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 29, 11 PM — quietOct 30, 3 AM — quietOct 30, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 11 AM — quietOct 30, 3 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Reddit 1, Mastodon 1Oct 30, 7 PM — quietOct 30, 11 PM — quietOct 31, 3 AM — quietOct 31, 7 AM — quietOct 31, 11 AM — quietOct 31, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Oct 31, 7 PM — quietOct 31, 11 PM — quietNov 1, 2 AM — quietNov 1, 6 AM — quietNov 1, 10 AM — quietNov 1, 2 PM — quietNov 1, 6 PM — quietNov 1, 10 PM — quietNov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 6 AM — quietNov 2, 10 AM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 10 AM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietNov 7, 2 AM — quietNov 7, 6 AM — quietNov 7, 10 AM — quietNov 7, 2 PM — quietNov 7, 6 PM — quietNov 7, 10 PM — quietNov 8, 2 AM — quietNov 8, 6 AM — quietNov 8, 10 AM — quietNov 8, 2 PM — quietNov 8, 6 PM — quietNov 8, 10 PM — quietNov 9, 2 AM — quietNov 9, 6 AM — quietNov 9, 10 AM — quietNov 9, 2 PM — quietNov 9, 6 PM — quietNov 9, 10 PM — quietNov 10, 2 AM — quietNov 10, 6 AM — quietNov 10, 10 AM — quietNov 10, 2 PM — quietNov 10, 6 PM — quietNov 10, 10 PM — quietNov 11, 2 AM — quietNov 11, 6 AM — quietNov 11, 10 AM — quietNov 11, 2 PM — quietNov 11, 6 PM — quietNov 11, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quiet 1–23
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  1. 3

    Listeners praise the band for nailing a note-for-note cover

    Social media users circulated the YouTube clip of the performance, with one widely shared post calling out the difficulty of the song and praising the band for pulling it off.

    “Not a huge Tame Impala guy but they were clearly like "What's the hardest possible song to cover note for note?" and they really did it. They pulled it off.”
    — bencollins.bsky.social
    • bencollins.bsky.social

      Not a huge Tame Impala guy but they were clearly like "What's the hardest possible song to cover note for note?" and they really did it. They pulled it off.

      bencollins.bsky.socialBluesky12d ago706▲view on Bluesky ↗
  2. 2

    Seal's Instagram account reacts with clapping emojis

    Seal's Instagram account commented hand-clapping emojis on Tame Impala's post of the cover, though Stereogum noted the artist outsources his social media activity.

    “It wasn't an easy decision, if I'm honest. A few of us had the idea simultaneously, and we were like, 'Ah yeah, we can't do that. That's too hard.'”
    — Kevin Parker, Tame Impala frontman · source
    1. 1 outlet Tame Impala Cover “Kiss From A Rose”

      first by Stereogum, 13d ago

    • Tame Impala covers "Kiss From a Rose," by Seal. Good shit. Tame Impala cover Seal's 'Kiss...

      volts.wtf@bsky.brid.gyMastodon13d agoview on Mastodon ↗
  3. 1

    Kevin Parker explains the band's hesitation over the cover

    Parker described the song as "quite proggy" due to its rhythm changes and said the band nearly abandoned the idea before deciding to do their own version rather than imitate Seal's voice. Tame Impala also performed their own track "Dracula" during the segment.

    1. 1 outlet Tame Impala Cover Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” for Like a Version: Watch

      first by Consequence, 14d ago

  4. background

    Tame Impala cover Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" on Like a Version — Kevin Parker's band performed the 1994 Seal ballad for Triple J's Like a Version, marking Parker's fourth appearance on the series after covers of OutKast, Kylie Minogue and Edwyn Collins in past years.

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