Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Surpasses 2 Billion YouTube Views

Nirvana’s iconic music video for their game-changing hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has surpassed 2 billion views on YouTube.

While more than 100 music videos have reached that milestone, only a handful of them have been from rock acts, with even less from hard rock bands. Only Linkin Park’s “Numb” and “The End,” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” are ahead of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” as far as heavier acts are concerned. Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (featuring Daddy Yankee) remains the most watched music video on YouTube with a whopping 8.7 billion views.

Upon its release in 1991, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” helped introduce Nirvana to the masses, blowing the doors down for the grunge and alternative-rock revolution that would bump hair metal off the rock pedestal on MTV. The new milestone comes just five-and-a-half years after the music video reached 1 billion views in 2019.