`RELISH'-ING THE MOMENT : SINGER JOAN OSBORNE REACHES OUT TO NEW AUDIENCES ON AWARDS SHOWS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

She was up for five Grammy Awards, but came home empty-handed.

Instead of telegraphing bitterness, ``One of Us'' singer Joan Osborne is taking the high road.

``I felt the purpose of me being part of the event in the first place was to gain a wider audience,'' she said a few days before her appearance at Sunday's VH1 Honors telecast with Gloria Estefan, Peter Gabriel, Pete Townshend, Michael Stipe and others.

``Because so much media attention was focused on the female nominees like Alanis Morissette, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain and me, it served a purpose,'' Osborne said. ``The fact that I didn't win (a Grammy) doesn't bother me that much. I'm not too disappointed. I got what I needed to get out of the thing.''

Osborne, who a year ago was a little-known blues and r&b singer toiling in the nightclubs of New York, truly did benefit from the intense coverage of the record industry awards show two months ago.

But Osborne was already on her way. Her major label debut, ``Relish,'' slowly began climbing the charts, bolstered by the radio-friendly single, ``One of Us,'' which had been noticed by modern-rock and triple-A (adult album alternative) radio programmers.

By December, she was in the midst of an ever-expanding national tour that included a series of high-profile radio-sponsored holiday concerts. The following month, it was announced that Osborne was in the running for five Grammys, an almost unprecedented number of nods for a new artist.

``The one thing that surprised me being backstage at the Grammys was a lot of black artists knew me from the song and the album,'' Osborne said. ``I hadn't anticipated we'd reach that audience, but in some places like Atlanta and Richmond, we've begun to see it happening. And that's very gratifying for me because I draw so much inspiration from soul and r&b.''

The Kentucky-born Osborne, whose womanly vocal style makes a refreshing change on the airwaves from angry young males and their screaming guitars, has been touring since January 1995.

The singer performs Sunday at the televised VH1 Honors show, which takes place at the Universal Amphitheatre. Osborne will cover the Rolling Stones' ``Beast of Burden'' with r&b singer Tony Rich and also may sing Peter Gabriel's ``Red Rain'' with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Gabriel.

Osborne, who has long been interested in gospel music, said she hopes to duet with Pakistani spiritual vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, as well.

``There are a couple of songs from `Relish' that might lend themselves to Ali Khan's vocal style,'' Osborne said last week from a tour stop in Hartford, Conn.

Nicole Sandler, morning co-host at local triple-A radio KSCA-FM (101.9), said Osborne's ``Relish'' is full of attractive cuts. In fact, the station is alternating among six of them.

``The album is absolutely wonderful,'' Sandler said, adding that KSCA began playing Osborne a full year ago, long before other outlets picked up on ``One of Us.''

``We realized early that she was something special,'' Sandler said. ``Now that she's crossed over into the mainstream, we see there are a lot more hits to come from her.''

Osborne, for her part, can see concrete results from the increased awareness of her music.

``When I look out at my audience today, I see an age range from 5 to 50,'' said the 33-year-old singer. ``I attribute that directly to all the attention I received from the awards and beyond.''

Osborne and her quartet appear June 6 and 7 at the Wiltern Theatre.

``Some days I'm exhausted, and some days I get a bit of energy and it feels OK,'' she said, adding that she has a European tour lined up this summer that includes the War Child benefit in Italy featuring famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti and Eric Clapton.

``I don't think I'm going to do any summer amphitheater tours,'' Osborne said. ``I don't want to overstay my welcome.''

Morissette also is worried about media oversaturation to the point that she long ago stopped giving interviews. But Osborne isn't too concerned.

``Certainly you can try and keep your audience very narrow and pure if that's what you want,'' she said. ``But I think my story is different from Alanis because she's sold a lot more records than I have. As long as we go into hiding after our tour, I think it will be OK.''

THE FACTS What: ``Third Annual VH1 Honors.''

When: 6 p.m. Sunday.

Network: VH1.

Host: Tim Robbins.

Starring: Joan Osborne, Gloria Estefan, Peter Gabriel, Pete Townshend, Michael Stipe, Bryan Adams, Natalie Merchant, Don Henley, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rod Stewart.

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Photo: ``When I look out at my audience today, I see an age range from 5 to 50. I attribute that directly to all the attention I received from the awards and beyond,'' says Joan Osborne, appearing Sunday on the VH1 Honors telecast.