List of awards and nominations received by Nirvana

Nirvana was an American rock band formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington. The band went through a succession of drummers and eventually settled on Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990.^[1] They have released three studio albums: Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991), and In Utero (1993). The first album was released on the Sub Pop record label, while the remaining albums were released by DGC Records.^[2]

Nirvana awards and nominations

Cobain and Novoselic at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations American Music Awards 1 2 Brit 1 3 Grammy 1 7 MTV VMA 5 10 NME 2 3
Totals[a]
Wins	17
Nominations	27
Note Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

The band received several awards and nominations in their debut year in 1992, including nominations for Favorite New Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist from the American Music Awards, Best Alternative Music Performance for Nevermind from the Grammy Awards, and Video of the Year and Viewer's Choice for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the MTV Video Music Awards. They received the Best Alternative Video award for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Best New Artist from the MTV Video Music Awards in the same year. The song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was also nominated for Best Rock Song at the 1993 Grammy Awards, but it lost to "Layla" by Eric Clapton. Clapton's win over Nirvana would later be named one of the "10 biggest upsets" in Grammy history by Entertainment Weekly.^[3] After receiving five nominations from the Grammy Awards without winning any of them, the band finally received the Best Alternative Music Performance award for MTV Unplugged In New York in 1996. Overall, Nirvana has received twelve awards from twenty-five nominations.

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973. Nirvana has received one award from two nominations.^[4][5][6]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1992	Nirvana	Favorite New Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist	Nominated
1995	Nirvana	Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist	Won

BMI Pop Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
1996	"About a Girl"	Award-Winning Song	Won	[7]

Billboard Music Awards

The Billboard Music Awards honor artists for commercial performance in the U.S., based on record charts published by Billboard.^[8] The awards are based on sales data by Nielsen SoundScan and radio information by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.^[9] The award ceremony was held from 1990 to 2007, until its reintroduction in 2011.^[10]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1994	Nirvana	Top Billboard 200 Artist - Duo/Group	Nominated

Brit Awards

The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. Nirvana has won one award from three nominations.^[11][12]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1993	Nirvana	International Breakthrough Act	Won
		International Group	Nominated
1994			Nominated

GAFFA Awards

Denmark GAFFA Awards

Delivered since 1991, the GAFFA Awards are a Danish award that rewards popular music by the magazine of the same name.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2006	Unplugged in New York	Best Foreign Music-DVD	Won	[13]
2009	Live at Reading		Won

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States. Nirvana has received 1 award from a total of seven nominations.^{[4][14][15][16][17][18]} In 2023, Nirvana were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Notably, Pat Smear was honored at the event (alongside Novoselic and Grohl), despite his brief tenure in the band. Each member received their own trophy at the ceremony.^[19]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1992	Nevermind	Best Alternative Music Performance	Nominated[20]
1993	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Best Hard Rock Performance	Nominated
		Best Rock Song	Nominated
1994	In Utero	Best Alternative Music Performance	Nominated
1995	"All Apologies"	Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal	Nominated
		Best Rock Song	Nominated
1996	MTV Unplugged in New York	Best Alternative Music Performance	Won
2023	—	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award	Honored

Juno Awards

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies.^[21]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1993	Nevermind	Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic)	Nominated

MOJO Awards

MOJO Awards are awarded by the popular British music magazine, Mojo, published monthly by Bauer.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2007	Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!	Vision Award	Nominated

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV. Nirvana has received five awards from ten nominations.^{[4][22][23][24]}

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1992	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Video of the Year	Nominated
		Best New Artist in a Video	Won
		Best Alternative Video	Won
		Viewer's Choice	Nominated
1993	"In Bloom"	Best Alternative Video	Won
1994	"Heart-Shaped Box"	Video of the Year	Nominated
		Best Alternative Video	Won
		Best Art Direction in a Video	Won
		Best Cinematography in a Video	Nominated
		Viewer's Choice	Nominated

NME Awards

Founded by the British music magazine NME, the NME Awards are awarded annually. Nirvana has won four awards from nine nominations.^[25][26]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1991	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Best Single	Won
1995	Kurt Cobain's Suicide	Bummer of the Year	Won
2000	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Best Single Ever	Won
2003	"You Know You're Right"	Best Video	Nominated
2005	With The Lights Out	Best Music DVD	Nominated
2008	Unplugged in New York		Won
2010	Live at Reading		Nominated
2012	Nevermind	Best Reissue	Nominated
2014	In Utero		Nominated

O Music Awards

The O Music Awards ^[27] is an awards show presented by Viacom to honor music, technology and intersection between the two.^[28] The 1st O Music Awards ceremony was held on April 28, 2011 on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas.^[29]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2011	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Best Vintage Viral Video	Won

Pollstar Concert Industry Awards

The Pollstar Concert Industry Awards aim to reward the best in the business of shows and concerts.^[30]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1992	Themselves	Best New Rock Artist	Won
	Nevermind Tour	Club Tour of the Year	Nominated