“Smells Like Teen Spirit” Hits Two Billion Views on YouTube

One of the most iconic music videos of all time recently crossed two billion views on YouTube, as Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” joins a rather small list of rock acts to reach such a milestone.

Of the more than 100 music videos to hit the 2 billion mark, there are a shockingly low number of rock vides that made the cut. In fact, just three rock videos have more views than “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — two from Linkin Park (“Numb” and “The End”) and Guns N’ Roses‘ “November Rain.” Everything else is dwarfed by the 8.2 billion views that Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” has received.

Tons of people credit this band and this song with “killing metal” in the 90s, but that’s not necessarily true. The excesses of the 80s and the ridiculousness that was hair metal were what likely pushed metal out of the public’s favor, not some kids from Seattle. Still, it would be disingenuous to say Nirvana — and this song — helped further diminish acts like Mötley Crüe, Poison, and other similar acts.

Still, it’s undeniable that the song and video are popular. After all, it only took about five and a half years to go from 1 billion views to twoo