Who Beat Kurt Cobain in ‘Greatest Rockstar of All Time’ Bracket

The internet has spoken, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain is apparently not the greatest rockstar of all time.

Pubity, a publication that focuses on “global youth culture and entertainment,” recently hosted a bracket tournament on their Instagram page to determine the Greatest Rockstar of All Time. Launched on Jan. 27, followers were able to vote in each round on the page’s Instagram Story.

Cobain made it all the way to the final round, beating Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne and, in the semi-final round, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. However, the late Elvis Presley was ultimately chosen as the winner of the competition.

But in case you’re interested to see who faced each other in the tournament, we break down a little bit about each round below. Keep reading to see which rockstars were included and how fans narrowed down the decision.

Round One of Pubity’s Greatest Rockstar of All Time Tournament

Below, we list the 32 rockstars who were included in the first round of the tournament. They’re listed in the order they were mentioned on the Pubity account, so the first two were up against each other, and the following two and so on. We put the name of the artists that made it to the next round in bold.

Jimi Hendrix
Don Henley
Steven Tyler
Gerard Way
Brandon Flowers
Prince
Liam Gallagher
Bruce Dickinson
Axl Rose
Keith Richards
Paul Stanley
Paul McCartney
James Hetfield
Elvis Presley
Mick Jagger
Bruce Springsteen
Robert Plant
Hayley Williams
Eddie Vedder
Alex Turner
Dave Grohl
Thom Yorke
Eddie Van Halen
Stevie Nicks
Lemmy Kilmister
David Bowie
Chester Bennington
Kurt Cobain
Alice Cooper
Corey Taylor
Josh Homme
Ozzy Osbourne

Round Two of Pubity’s Greatest Rockstar of All Time Tournament

By the end of the second round, only eight rockers remained. Thus, Steven Tyler lost to Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Dickinson to Prince, Axl Rose to Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger to Presley, Eddie Vedder to Plant, Eddie Van Halen to Dave Grohl, Bowie to Cobain and Alice Cooper to Osbourne.

Semi Finals – Pubity’s Greatest Rockstar of All Time Tournament

Hendrix, Presley, Plant and Cobain were the four semi-finalists of the tournament. As with almost everything in the rock and metal world — reactions were quite mixed. We highlighted some comments that were made on the semi-finals post below.

READ MORE: Why Is Rock Music Called ‘Rock’?

“Kurt Cobain beating Bowie and Ozzy really highlights what age group is doing the voting,” one person wrote.

“Clearly this was a popularity contest, not a skill contest,” another follower remarked.

The Finals – Pubity’s Greatest Rockstar of All Time Tournament

Presley and Cobain were the two rockstars that made it to the final round of the bracket. Presley was crowned the champion — many felt it was deserved, and others pointed out musicians that were left out of the tournament completely, such as Queen’s Freddie Mercury.

See some comments on the final post below.

“This is categorically wrong. The people have blown it once again” one of the most-liked comments reads.

“I mean. He is the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. No way it should’ve gone to anyone else. Long live the king,” another fan wrote.

“I can’t believe Kurt beat Robert Plant AND Bowie,” added another person.