‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana hits 1 billion views

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana has finally accumulated 1 billion views on YouTube. The ’90s music video has been considered one of the most influential songs in the grunge and rock scenes, and now joins the prestigious hall of billion views with other classics of our time. 

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ will always be lauded as the track that truly ignited the popularity of Seattle grunge. And now, the video has accumulated one billion views, making it the most-viewed music video for the ’90s.

The video now joins the billion views club, and is only the second music video from the 1990s to hit the milestone following Guns N’ Roses’ ‘November Rain.’ The oldest video with a billion views is Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ following the success of the biopic earlier this year.

The iconic video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, features the legendary band playing the song in a school during a rebellious, rock ‘n’ roll pep rally. It truly is the embodiment of the general attitude and angst that purveyed many of the acts in the early ’90s, and really, the entire decade altogether. The original idea behind the grunge bands was that they were anti-mainstream, but they ironically became part of a historic rock movement, much to the chagrin of Kurt Cobain.

Nirvana is a band that defined a generation as they’re largely singled out as the primary cause of hair metal’s demise as young music fans looked to strip away the excess and pomp of those ’80s acts who became multi-platinum MTV darlings. The Seattle group’s impact has clearly affected more than just a generation as their hit songs remain just as iconic today, a quarter-century after the band’s dissolution following Kurt Cobain’s tragic suicide in 1994.

You can relive the glory days with ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana below.

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