when did smells like teen spirit first air on mtv
Smells Like Teen Spirit Issued to radio on August 27, 1991, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released two weeks later on September 10 as the lead single from Nevermind, the band'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 fanbase for the group.[24] "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was not expected to be a hit, for it was merely intended to be the base-building alternative rock cut from the album. It was anticipated that the follow-up single "Come as You Are" would be the song that could cross over to mainstream formats. However, campus radio and modern rock radio stations picked up on the track, and placed it on heavy rotation. Danny Goldberg of Nirvana's management firm Gold Mountain later admitted that "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."[25] The video received its world premiere on MTV's late-night alternative rock program 120 Minutes, and proved so popular that the channel began to air it during its regular daytime rotation.[26] 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, its accompanying video, and the Nevermind album had become hits. Both the song 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.[27]