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'Nevermind' turns 25: A look at the numbers behind Nirvana's iconic album

In this file photo, members of Nirvana, from left, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain, appear at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 2, 1993. The unidentified man at right was not a member of the band. Nirvanas iconic rock album... (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

Matt Jaworowski, Media General National Desk – (MEDIA GENERAL) – An album widely acclaimed to be one of the most influential in the history of rock music turns 25 on Saturday.

Nirvana's "Nevermind" was released on Sept. 24, 1991, ushering in a wider acceptance of alternative music, grunge style and leaving an indelible mark on the rock landscape.

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Here's a look at some of the numbers inside Nirvana's iconic album:

9 – It took nine weeks for "Nevermind" to "go platinum" in the United States – sell 1 million copies tracked by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album debuted at No. 144 on the Billboard 200 list and quickly gained popularity as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became a smash hit, largely on the back of its music video and frequent play on MTV.

10,000,000 – "Nevermind" has sold more than 24 million copies worldwide – including more than 10 million in the United States, earning the elite RIAA-certified Diamond status. The album was the 40th album in RIAA history to go Diamond, reaching the milestone in March 1999.

0 – Despite the album's massive success, Nirvana was shut out from the Grammys in 1992. "Nevermind" was nominated for best alternative rock album, but lost to R.E.M.'s "Out of Time." "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was nominated for best rock song, but lost to Eric Clapton's unplugged version of "Layla."

118 – "Nevermind" places No. 118 on Billboard's running chart for the top 200 albums of all-time. To be fair, the Billboard chart may not be the most effective measurement of Nirvana's success. The chart takes into account how long an album spent atop the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts. Not one, but two Mumford and Sons albums currently sit higher than "Nevermind." (Not that there's anything wrong with Mumford and Sons. I'm just saying…)

435,000,000 – The music video for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has more than 435 million views on YouTube.

$450,000,000 – A 2014 report from CNBC said Kurt Cobain's estate was valued at $450 million. The estate -- mostly controlled by Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, and their daughter, Frances Cobain – has rocketed in value because the estate holds more than 98 percent of the publishing rights to Nirvana's music and Cobain's image and name.

12/69 – The original pressings of "Nevermind" included 12 tracks, excluding "Endless, Nameless." According to a biography on the album, an audio engineer accidentally left the track off of the first 20,000 pressings before the band realized the mistake. Following releases include "Endless, Nameless" as a hidden song that plays after 10 minutes of silence on the album's final track, "Something in the Way." Nirvana released a "super-deluxe" version of "Nevermind" on the album's 20th anniversary in 2011. That package included 69 tracks, including the original album, B-sides, rare mixes and live performances.

1 – The phrase "never mind" is only uttered once on the album, at the end of the third verse on "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

https://open.spotify.com/user/mediageneralcc/playlist/2Q0cFiX9bb6o2HIHpnpykU


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