NIRVANA‘s music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has officially hit one billion views on YouTube.
It is the opening track and lead single from the group’s second album, Nevermind, released on DGC Records in 1991.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was NIRVANA‘s biggest hit in most countries, placing high on music industry charts around the world in 1991 and 1992, including topping the charts of Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain. The unexpected success propelled Nevermind to the top of several albums charts at the start of 1992, an event often marked as the point where grunge entered the mainstream.
The song received critical plaudits, including topping the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics’ poll and winning two MTV Video Music Awards for its music video, which was in heavy rotation on music television. The song was dubbed an “anthem for apathetic kids” of Generation X, but the band grew uncomfortable with the attention it brought them. In the years since Kurt Cobain‘s death, listeners and critics have continued to praise “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as one of the greatest songs in the history of rock music.
