Editing Smells Like Teen Spirit (section)

==Release and reception==
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released to radio on August 27, 1991. On September 10, it was released as the lead single from ''Nevermind'', Nirvana's major label debut on [[DGC Records]]. The song did not initially chart, and it sold well only in regions of the United States with an established Nirvana fanbase.<ref name="CRA - Nevermind112">Berkenstadt; Cross, p. 112.</ref>

The single was intended to be a base-building alternative rock cut from the album, and was not expected to be a hit; the follow-up "[[Come as You Are (Nirvana song)|Come as You Are]]" was planned as the single that could [[Crossover music|cross over]] to mainstream [[radio format]]s. However, [[campus radio|campus]] and [[modern rock]] radio stations placed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on [[heavy rotation]]. Danny Goldberg of Nirvana's management firm Gold Mountain said: "None of us heard it as a crossover song, but the public heard it and it was instantaneous ... They heard it on alternative radio, and then they rushed out like lemmings to buy it."<ref>Azerrad, p. 227.</ref>

The video received its world premiere on MTV's late-night alternative rock program ''[[120 Minutes]]'' on September 29,<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Grohl | first1 = Dave | title = The Storyteller | publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 2021 | pages = 151 | isbn = 978-1-3985-0372-4}}</ref> and proved so popular that the channel began to air it during its regular daytime rotation.<ref name="Azerrad199">Azerrad, p. 199.</ref> MTV added the video to its "[[Buzz Bin]]" selection in October, where it stayed until mid-December. By the end of the year, the song, music video, and the ''Nevermind'' album had become hits. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and ''Nevermind'' became a rare cross-format phenomenon, reaching all the major rock radio formats including modern rock, hard rock, album rock, and college radio.<ref>Berkenstadt; Cross, pp. 124–25.</ref>

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was also a critical and commercial success. It topped the 1991 ''[[Village Voice]]'' "[[Pazz & Jop]]" and ''[[Melody Maker]]'' year-end polls and reached number two on ''Rolling Stone's'' list of best singles of the year. The single peaked at number six on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart the same week that ''Nevermind'' reached number one on the albums chart.<ref>"Nirvana Achieves Chart Perfection!" ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]''. January 25, 1992.</ref> "Teen Spirit" hit number one on the [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart and in April 1992 it was [[RIAA certification|certified Platinum]] (one{{nbsp}}million copies shipped) by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Basham|first=David|date=December 20, 2001|title=Got Charts? No Doubt's Christmas Gift; Nirvana Ain't No Beatles|work=MTV|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451583/20011220/story.jhtml#/news/articles/1451583/20011220/story.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011227152340/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451583/20011220/story.jhtml#/news/articles/1451583/20011220/story.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 27, 2001|access-date=October 19, 2006}}</ref> However, many American [[Top 40]] stations were reluctant to play the song in regular rotation and restricted it to night-time play.<ref>Ross, Sean. "Nirvana Receiving Less-Than-Spirited Airplay". ''Billboard''. February 1, 1992.</ref>

The single was also successful in other countries. In the United Kingdom, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released on November 18, 1991, reaching number seven on the [[UK Singles Chart]] and charting for 184 weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=21|date=November 16, 1991}}</ref><ref name="qpg54">''Nirvana and The Story of Grunge''. ''Q''. p. 54. December 2005.</ref> The song was nominated for two [[Grammy Award]]s: [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Song|Best Rock Song]].<ref>"The 35th Grammy Awards Nominations General Categories". ''The Los Angeles Times''. January 8, 1993.</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' would later name Nirvana's loss to Eric Clapton in the Best Rock Song category as one of the 10 biggest upsets in Grammy history.<ref>{{cite magazine|year=2007|first=Michael|last=Endelman|title=Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets|magazine=EW.com|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,1567466_20010834_20010795_1,00.html|access-date=May 19, 2022|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629034859/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20010795_20010079,00.html}}</ref> Outside the United States, the song topped the charts of Belgium, France, New Zealand, and Spain. It charted within the top five of several European countries and reached number five in Australia. In Israel, it was voted in at number 2 on the [[Israel Broadcasting Authority|IBA]]'s "Voice of Israel" singles chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1of9J-7k3EqEzvgH8mZXqGv5N-oAIC30d/edit?gid=497451199#gid=497451199 |title=Israeli Singles Chart archive |website=google.com |language=he |access-date=August 17, 2024}}</ref> It appeared on several year-end charts, including number 10 in New Zealand, number 17 in Belgium and Germany, and number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Year-End Chart.<ref name="usye"/>

In the wake of Nirvana's success, [[Michael Azerrad]] wrote in a 1992 ''Rolling Stone'' article: "'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is an anthem for (or is it against?) the 'Why Ask Why?' generation. Just don't call Cobain a spokesman for a generation."<ref>Azerrad, Michael. "Inside the Heart and Mind of Nirvana". ''Rolling Stone''. 16 April 1992.</ref> Nevertheless, the music press awarded the song an "anthem-of-a-generation" status, placing Cobain as a reluctant spokesman for Generation X.<ref>Garofalo, Reebee. ''Rockin{{'}} Out: Popular Music in the USA''. Allyn & Bacon, 1997. {{ISBN|0-205-13703-2}}, p. 447.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "'Smells Like Teen Spirit' could be this generation's version of the [[Sex Pistols]]{{'}} 1976 single, '[[Anarchy in the U.K.]]', if it weren't for the bitter irony that pervades its title ... as Nirvana knows only too well, teen spirit is routinely bottled, shrink-wrapped and sold".<ref>{{cite news|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|date=24 November 1991|title=Boredom + Claustrophobia + Sex {{=}} Punk Nirvana|work=The New York Times|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DB103AF937A15752C1A967958260|access-date=April 8, 2007}}</ref>

Nirvana grew uncomfortable with the song's success and, in later concerts, often excluded it from the set list.<ref name="Crisafulli38">Crisafulli, p. 38.</ref> Prior to the release of the band's 1993 follow-up album ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]'', Novoselic remarked, "If it wasn't for 'Teen Spirit' I don't know how ''Nevermind'' would have done ... There are no 'Teen Spirits' on ''In Utero''."<ref>DeRogatis, Jim. ''Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's''. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. {{ISBN|0-306-81271-1}}, p. 14.</ref> Cobain said in 1994, "I still like playing 'Teen Spirit', but it's almost an embarrassment to play it ... Everyone has focused on that song so much."<ref name="pixies"/>