Durand Bernarr has recorded a pair of songs for the Spotify Singles series. As part of the campaign, the multifaceted singer has issued a sensational remake of Seal’s 1994 smash “Kiss from a Rose,” lifted from his self-titled album and most notably, the Batman Forever soundtrack.
Regarding his choice for a remake, Bernarr says, “When my father gave me Seal’s eponymous second album at 10 years old, I knew I wanted to create something similar at some point in my life. Revisiting the album as an adult evokes the same childhood thought, but I feel the lyrics more now.”
He continues, “Honestly, the way he expresses love, life, loss, and gratitude in his stories makes me weep. That raw emotion gave me the push to approach ‘Kiss From a Rose’ in a way I wouldn’t have been able to before experiencing my own trials in life. It’s a song that I hadn’t sung before and I wanted to showcase a different dynamic with my art.”
Bernarr couples his faithful remake with a fresh interpretation of “Leveled,” which is the current focus track of his sophomore album, Wanderlust.
Bernarr previously stated, “We’re moving through the world and we’re moving fast. Then, we have these moments where we slow down and just kind of even everything out for a second. That’s where ‘Leveled’ came from.”
“When I think of leveling, I think of a balance and I think there are many moments in life where we need to be balanced out. And it’s not a humbling. I don’t like that word. It’s like oh, I never knew how high I was. Like, I was really up here. And then I just needed to come down. I am sturdy down here,” he added.
Bernarr released Wanderlust in September 2022. The album placed at No. 14 on Rated R&B’s 30 Best R&B Albums of 2022 list.
Bernarr toured Wanderlust across the nation earlier this year. He will embark on My Bad for Taking So Long: The Wanderlust Tour Continues starting Sept. 6 in North America prior to traveling overseas in November.
He will be joined by singers JeRonelle and Gene Noble in select territories.
Listen to Durand Bernarr’s Spotify Singles below.