Joan Osborne

Joan Osborne is an American singer-songwriter born in Anchorage, Kentucky, who emerged from New York City's blues club scene in the early 1990s. She built a reputation as a formidable vocalist steeped in blues and soul before signing to a major label, and her career has since ranged freely across rock, pop, R&B, gospel, and country without settling permanently in any one of them.

Her defining moment came with the 1995 album Relish, whose single «One of Us», written by Eric Bazilian of The Hoodoo Gurus, became an unlikely global hit and earned her multiple Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year and Best New Artist. The song's plainspoken, spiritual questioning and her warm, grainy voice made it a defining radio moment of the mid-1990s.

Beyond that breakthrough, Osborne has remained a prolific and respected interpreter as much as an original songwriter, releasing albums that explore Bob Dylan covers, Motown soul, and roots music, and touring with acts like the Funk Brothers and the Grateful Dead-adjacent scene. She is admired within the industry for vocal range and authenticity rather than chart consistency, and continues to record and perform steadily.