Goedefroit Music / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

At the 2026 VMAs on September 27, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl and touring guitarist Pat Smear accepted MTV’s Video Vanguard Award at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. A montage of old Nirvana footage played before they accepted the night’s highest honor, 3 days after the 35th anniversary of “Nevermind.”

Backstage at Vooruit in Gent, Belgium, on November 23, 1991 — barely two months after ‘Nevermind’ released — Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic gathered behind the scenes. Photo by Goedefroit Music / Hulton Archive via Getty Images.

Released September 24, 1991, “Nevermind” includes “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “In Bloom,” “Lithium” and “Drain You.” The album displaced Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” from No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Nirvana had already won 5 VMAs, including Best New Artist in a Video and Best Alternative Video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1992, but hadn’t received the Vanguard Award; Duran Duran was the previous rock band to receive it, in 2003.

Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear of Nirvana stand onstage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles as Novoselic holds the Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 MTV VMAs on September 27. Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images.

Novoselic told the audience, “Thank you very much to Nirvana’s fans around the world and to everyone at MTV.” He said their “ideas for [their music] videos all grew out of the vision of one of the greatest artists of all time: Kurt Cobain.” Novoselic and Cobain founded Nirvana in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987.

Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear of Nirvana stand onstage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles as the ‘Video Vanguard’ graphic looms behind them during the 2026 MTV VMAs on September 27. Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images.

“None of us could have imagined that our band, our sound or our aesthetic could mean so much to so many people,” Novoselic said. He added, “Nirvana continues to resonate so deeply because people are still hungry for authenticity, for something real, something uncompromising, something that tells you it’s OK to come as you are. Kurt would’ve loved that legacy.”

Cobain, Nirvana’s frontman, died by suicide in April 1994 at age 27, and the band disbanded afterward. MTV VMAs producer Van Toffler told The Hollywood Reporter he was stunned to learn Nirvana hadn’t previously received the Vanguard Award: “I can’t think of a more impactful band in the history of MTV.” He recalled, “I remember we all stopped everything the day that Kurt Cobain died, and MTV turned into a news channel because it had such an impact on our audience.”

If you’re affected by the issues raised here, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at 800-273-TALK (8255), and the Crisis Text Line is available at 741741.

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