Nirvana win the Video Vanguard, the first band to get it since 2003
Nirvana received MTV's Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 VMAs on September 27 in Los Angeles, presented by Chuck D and accepted by Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear. They are the first band to win it since Duran Duran in 2003, at the same ceremony where MTV dropped its Best Rock category after 37 years.
By Riffiter
Nirvana received MTV's Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 VMAs on Sunday, September 27, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Chuck D of Public Enemy presented it. Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear came up together. Novoselic did the talking, Grohl stood beside him without saying a word, and Smear lit a cigarette on stage, a detail Today, Vice and the Irish Star all picked up.
The first band in 23 years
The Video Vanguard is MTV's lifetime-achievement honor. Nirvana are the first band to get it since Duran Duran in 2003. Every winner in between was a solo artist:
| Winners since 2003 | |
|---|---|
| Britney Spears | Jennifer Lopez |
| Justin Timberlake | Missy Elliott |
| Beyoncé | Nicki Minaj |
| Kanye West | Shakira |
| Rihanna | Katy Perry |
| P!nk | Mariah Carey |
The timing has an edge to it. This year MTV dropped its Best Rock category after 37 years, folding rock into Best Alternative. The network retired the rock prize and gave a rock band its highest honor at the same show.
What was said
Chuck D framed the band in his own terms: "Nirvana never bent to the will of the mainstream; they always stayed true to their vision." He added that "their influence can be heard in virtually every generation of artists who follow."
Novoselic said the band still lands because "people are still hungry for authenticity, or something real, something uncompromising, something that tells you it's just okay to come as you are." Then he turned it to Kurt Cobain: "The ideas for those videos all grew out of the vision of one of the greatest artists of all time, Kurt Cobain. Kurt was one of one."
The last time they were on that stage
Nirvana's history with the VMAs starts on September 9, 1992, at Pauley Pavilion. MTV wanted "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Cobain opened with a few bars of "Rape Me", which was not out yet and worried the network, before going into "Lithium". At the end of the song Novoselic threw his bass in the air, missed the catch and hit himself in the head. The band went home with Best Alternative Video and Best New Artist, both for "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
That Best Alternative Video trophy now sits at MoPOP in Seattle. Its engraving reads "Smells Like Team", not "Teen".
Unplugged
The other MTV record came a year later. MTV Unplugged in New York was taped in one take at Sony Music Studios on November 18, 1993, aired on December 16, and came out as an album on November 1, 1994, seven months after Cobain's death.