Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear accepted the band’s Moon Person 35 years after their hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Credit: Francis Specker/CBS
NEED TO KNOW
- Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 MTV VMAs, honoring their lasting influence on music and culture
- The award announcement coincided with the anniversary of their first VMA performance in 1992, where they performed “Lithium”
- Their iconic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, a defining MTV-era clip, has over 2 billion views on YouTube
Nirvana’s MTV era isn’t over just yet.
More than three decades after the band first took the VMAs stage, Nirvana returned to the show to accept the Video Vanguard Award.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, the Seattle grunge group — which formed in 1987 and featured Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic — received the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards’ Video Vanguard Award, honoring the band’s lasting influence on not only music and culture but also MTV. Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear, who toured extensively with the trio, joined Grohl, 57, and Novoselic, 61, on the red carpet and on stage.
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
“Thank you so much to Nirvana’s fans around the world and to everyone at MTV. This award brings back so many memories of making those videos,” Novoselic said in a speech on stage, following a video compilation of Nirvana’s iconic music videos and archival footage of Cobain. “We saw the dystopian pep rally with anarchist cheerleaders, our version of an Ed Sullivan’s TV appearance, performing in a Wizard of Oz-like Field of Poppies, and so many more.”
He continued, “The ideas for those videos, all grew out of the vision of one of the greatest artists of all time, Kurt Cobain. Kurt was one of one. None of us could have imagined that our band, our sound or our aesthetic would mean so much to so many people. But ultimately, the music had a life of its own. It charted its own course. Nirvana continues to resonate so deeply because people are still hungry for authenticity or something real, something uncompromising. Something that tells you it’s just okay to come as you are.”
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“Kurt would have loved that legacy. Thank you all so much,” Novoselic ended the acceptance speech.
Cobain died by suicide on April 5, 1994, at age 27, bringing Nirvana to an end. But the band’s influence has continued to grow more than three decades later.
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
The announcement that Nirvana would be taking the prestigious Moon Person home was made on Instagram on Sept. 9 — the same date the band took the VMAs stage for the first time in 1992.
That night, Nirvana was riding high on the massive success of its sophomore album, Nevermind. The band performed “Lithium,” with Cobain famously teasing the opening chords of the then-unreleased “Rape Me” before launching into the song. Novoselic also famously threw his bass into the air — only for it to come back down and hit him in the face.
But Nirvana’s biggest MTV moment came through “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Released on Sept. 10, 1991, the single became the band’s signature song, while its music video became one of the defining clips of the MTV era. Directed by Samuel Bayer, the video takes place at a fictional high school pep rally that gradually descends into a full-blown riot.
Nevermind eventually sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, while the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video has racked up more than 2 billion views on YouTube.
In 2014, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while Nevermind landed at No. 6 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The band’s catalog has also remained a major part of popular culture, with “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come as You Are,” “In Bloom” and “Heart-Shaped Box” continuing to rack up streams and views decades after their release.
The Video Vanguard Award has previously gone to artists including Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Shakira and Nicki Minaj.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the 2026 VMAs are airing live from Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. ET (4:30 to 6:30 p.m. PT) on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show will be available globally on Paramount+ and MTV the following day.
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