According to Chart Data, NIRVANA‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, making it the band’s first song to reach the milestone.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” opened NIRVANA‘s breakthrough release “Nevermind” (Geffen/UMe) which hit No. 1 around the world, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. The single made its radio debut on August 27, 1991 and the accompanying video showed the band playing background music for a truly spirited high-school cheerleading squad.
“Nevermind” would come to be much more than one of the most successful and influential albums of all time. It returned rock ‘n’ roll integrity and passion to the top of the charts and continues to be a singular inspiration to fans and musicians alike over the last three decades — and generations to come. It has been credited over the years with helping to kill off hair metal.
Charles R. Cross, the author of “Heavier Than Heaven”, a biography of NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain, told Today.com about the mega-success of “Nevermind”: “It’s an incredible album. It would have been a hit whenever it was released. But at the same time, the timing was right for there to be a superstar act like NIRVANA. It came right at the end of the death knell of hair metal and the world was screaming for rock music that would be meaningful again. And the timing for a new generation wanting a voice was also ideal. It just so happened that everything came together at the exact right moment when rock needed a revolution.”
Back in December 2019, NIRVANA‘s video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” officially hit one billion views on YouTube.
Earlier this month, LINKIN PARK‘s “In The End” also joined Spotify‘s Billion Streams Club.
Spotify recently launched its “Billions Club” playlist — which currently features more than 150 songs — highlighting the megahits that have surpassed the one billion streams mark.
.@Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has now surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
— chart data (@chartdata) June 28, 2021
