In 1995, One Of Us became an international smash hit, spreading its message of peace across the world with a rock kick.
To date, it’s still one of the most-defining songs of the era, and it’s all thanks to the soft-voiced singer who made it so anthemic.
While One of Us was written by Eric Bazilian of The Hooters, Joan Osborne was who made the song come alive.
It became the lead song from Joan’s debut album, Relish, which was released in November 1995.
An instant success, it became a top 20 hit in 16 countries, reaching number one in Australia, Canada and Sweden.
In the UK, it peaked at number six, and she was nominated for two Brit Awards – for International Female Solo Artist and International Breakthrough.
She was also nominated for five Grammys thanks to Relish, with One Of Us nominated for Record Of The Year.
Even when the height of its popularity faded, One Of Us took on a life of its own, referenced often in TV shows and movies.
Joan Of Arcadia used it as their theme song, Austin Powers: The Spy Who S*****d Me saw Dr Evil perform a parody of the track, and Tom Cruise sang it in movie, Vanilla Sky.
Prince released a cover of the song in 1996 alongside his wife, Mayte Garcia, and Glee would later cover it in season one of the hit TV show, giving it a new lease of life.
In light of the song’s success, Joan performed across the world. While the song is considered pop, rock and country in nature, Joan now mostly leans towards funk and Motown.
She has continued to release music, with her latest album, Nobody Owns You, dropping in 2023.
She told LA Daily News of her huge hit: “I do still enjoy playing it live. If it was a different kind of song, like a booty-shake-type of song I might be tired of it.
“But if it had to be one song, that’s a pretty interesting song to be the one I’m known for.”
Adding the experience of the hit “felt like a crazy dream”, she added: “It seemed to really be having this emotional impact on people and I think that’s what every artist dreams of, to have that kind of reach and affect so many people.”
She has a 20-year-old daughter, and lives in New York.
