Nirvana has been named the recipient of the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards’ Video Vanguard Award.
Past winners of the award include Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Shakira, and Nicki Minaj.
The announcement came on September 9, marking the anniversary of Nirvana’s first-ever VMA performance back in 1992. The band will be honoured during this year’s ceremony, airing live on September 27.
Nirvana’s breakthrough came with Smells Like Teen Spirit in 1991, the song that helped Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl transform from underground Seattle musicians into global stars.
The iconic music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, was shot in Culver City just weeks before the single’s release and depicted a high school pep rally spiraling into chaos. Roughly 150 extras were cast to fill out the scene, and the video has since drawn over 2 billion views on YouTube.
Bayer later reflected that Nirvana wasn’t seen as a high-profile project at the time, since much bigger acts dominated the charts. He said he was likely chosen because studios were looking for emerging directors willing to try something different, and admitted he never expected the band or the video to become as massive as they did.
“I think the reason I got Nirvana is because it wasn’t exactly a high-profile project in the record company. When I did the video, the things that were at the top of the US charts were MC Hammer, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica. I don’t think anybody really thought that this punk band from Seattle was going to sell so many records or become such a cultural phenomenon,” he shared in a 2013 interview with Interview magazine.
Cobain died in 1994, and though Nirvana disbanded shortly after, the group’s influence has only grown since. They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
This year’s VMAs will air September 27 on CBS and MTV, with streaming available on Paramount+.
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