Guns N' Roses - November Rain

Before it became an MTV titan, "November Rain" lived inside Axl Rose’s head for nearly a decade, a sprawling orchestral masterpiece painstakingly crafted before exploding onto 1991's Use Your Illusion I. Clocking in at almost nine minutes, this cinematic power ballad redefined the scope of hard rock, fusing melancholic piano melodies with Slash’s towering, wind-swept guitar solos outside a stark desert chapel. Directed by Andy Morahan and inspired by Del James’ short story "Without You," its music video cost an astonishing $1.5 million—a staggering sum that birthed one of the most iconic visual narratives in rock history.

Time Capsule (2009): Fast forward to Christmas Day in 2009, when this 90s epic officially landed on YouTube. The world in 2009 was rapidly shifting: Barack Obama was inaugurated as U.S. President, James Cameron's Avatar was shattering box office records, and smartphones were beginning to dominate daily life. As pop culture mourned the loss of Michael Jackson and embraced a new digital era, Guns N' Roses' masterpiece found a second life online, setting the stage for it to eventually become the first 1990s music video to breach one billion views on the platform.

• Chart Legacy: "November Rain" made history as the first 1990s music video to surpass 2 billion views on YouTube, and it remains the longest track (8:57) ever to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Touring Record: The band's "Not in This Lifetime..." reunion tour (2016–2019) grossed over $584 million, solidifying its place among the highest-grossing concert tours in music history.
• Recent News: Guns N' Roses capped off their extensive 2023 World Tour—which included headlining sets at London's Hyde Park, Glastonbury, and the Power Trip festival—by releasing two new singles, "Perhaps" and "The General."
• Current Status: The full band is taking a break from touring in 2024, with members pursuing individual projects, such as guitarist Slash touring for his 2024 solo blues album, Orgy of the Damned.
• Net Worth Insights: Frontman Axl Rose holds an estimated net worth of $200 million, while guitarist Slash is estimated at $90 million, heavily bolstered by enduring royalties from their debut album Appetite for Destruction (the best-selling debut album in U.S. history) and recent stadium tour revenues.