Plush (song)

"Plush" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It is the ninth track and second single from the band's debut studio album, Core (1992), released on Atlantic Records. The song is one of the most iconic from the grunge and alternative rock movements of the early 1990s, and is currently the band's second most popular song on Spotify, with over 350 million streams.

The single of "Plush" was released on August 23, 1993 and "changed everything" for the band, according to Robert DeLeo, who wrote the song with Scott Weiland and Eric Kretz. It became the first alternative song to top the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks, that listing's number-one song of 1993, and charted in Canada, Europe and Oceania. Two music videos were directed by Josh Taft. The first was released in 1993 to heavy rotation on MTV, earning the band a MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist award. The second is found on the Thank You bonus DVD.

On release, "Plush" saw mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, many finding the song derivative of other grunge and alternative bands, particularly Pearl Jam. While winning in the category of "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 1994 Grammy Awards, it took until the 21st century for most reviews to come around to the song. "Plush" is now regarded as one of the best and most influential songs of the 1990s, and along with its band, is an icon of the decade's pop culture.