Nirvana (band): Difference between revisions

[[File:CastingCallSmellsLikeTeenSpirit.jpg|left|thumb|Announcement from the band encouraging people to participate in the making of the music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]]

Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of ''Nevermind'', the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth's ''[[Goo (album)|Goo]]''.<ref>Wice, Nathaniel. "How Nirvana Made It". ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. April 1993.</ref> However, the first single "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on [[MTV]]. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was almost omnipresent on radio and music television.<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 203</ref> By Christmas 1991, ''Nevermind'' was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US.<ref>Lyons, James. ''Selling Seattle: Representing Contemporary Urban America''. Wallflower, 2004. {{ISBN|1-903364-96-5}}, p. 120</ref> In January 1992, the album displaced [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Dangerous (Michael Jackson album)|Dangerous]]'' at number one on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' album charts, and topped the charts in numerous other countries.<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 239</ref> The month ''Nevermind'' reached number one, ''Billboard'' proclaimed, "Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base."<ref>"Nirvana Achieves Chart Perfection!" ''Billboard''. January 25, 1992.</ref> The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States<ref name="SoundScan sales">Basham, David. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451583/got-charts-no-doubts-christmas-gift.jhtml "Got Charts? No Doubt's Christmas Gift; Nirvana Ain't No Beatles"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516203631/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451583/got-charts-no-doubts-christmas-gift.jhtml |date=May 16, 2013 }}. MTV.com. December 20, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2011.</ref> and over 30&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref>"[https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/470039/billboard-bits-nirvanas-nevermind-to-be-re-released-no-more-guest-stars-on-glee Nirvana's 'Nevermind' To Be Re-Released] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717032738/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/470039/billboard-bits-nirvanas-nevermind-to-be-re-released-no-more-guest-stars-on-glee |date=July 17, 2014 }}". ''Billboard''. June 27, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.</ref> Nirvana's sudden success was credited for popularizing [[alternative rock]] and ending the dominance of [[hair metal]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Cameron|first=Keith|date=2011-06-11|title=Nirvana kill hair metal|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/nirvana-kill-hair-metal|access-date=2020-06-19|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=June 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621153223/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/nirvana-kill-hair-metal|url-status=live}}</ref>

Citing exhaustion, Nirvana did not undertake another American tour in support of ''Nevermind'', and made only a handful of performances later that year.<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 256</ref> In March 1992, Cobain sought to reorganize the group's songwriting royalties (which to this point had been split equally) to better represent that he wrote the majority of the music. Grohl and Novoselic did not object, but when Cobain wanted the agreement to be retroactive to the release of ''Nevermind'', the disagreements came close to breaking up the band. After a week of tension, Cobain received a retroactive share of 75 percent of the royalties. Bad feelings about the situation remained within the group afterward.<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 257–58</ref>