Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” is the first full-on rock music video to hit 2 billion views on YouTube. The milestone comes a little more than 13 years since the 1991 clip was uploaded to the streaming platform on Christmas Day of 2009.
The epic ballad boasts an equally grand music video starring singer Axl Rose and his then-girlfriend, supermodel Stephanie Seymour. It includes a memorable scene in which Slash steps outside a church to deliver his guitar solo in a large open field.
While many music videos have crossed the 2 billion threshold on YouTube, “November Rain” is the first purely rock one to do so. Imagine Dragons’ pop-leaning “Believer” has 2.3 billion views, and Coldplay’s “Something Just Like This” EDM/pop collaboration with The Chainsmokers has 2.1 billion views, but neither one of those songs are truly rock tracks. The music video with the most views on the streaming platform is Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (featuring Daddy Yankee), which has a whopping 8 billion views.
Other rock videos approaching the 2 billion mark include Linkin Park’s “Numb” (1.9 billion) and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1.6 billion).
One major fan of the “November Rain” clip is none other than Donald Trump, who thinks it’s the “greatest music video of all time.” Apparently, he never caught wind of Axl Rose’s hatred of him.
Meanwhile, Slash recently talked about the debauchery that GN’R engaged in back in their ’80s and early ’90s heyday, and admitted that the band would’ve been “canceled in this day and age.”
As of now, Guns N’ Roses only have one show scheduled for 2023, a concert at London’s Hyde Park on June 30th, with tickets available here.
Check out the video for “November Rain” below, followed by our 2022 video interview with Slash.
