Photo courtesy of AllMusic
Everyone has a favorite band, mine just happens to be in the minority or the “Silent Majority.” I’ll admit, I have an unconventional taste in music listening to groups like Daughtry, Lifehouse and Fall Out Boy just to name a few, but my favorite band is despised by the masses with a passion: Nickelback.
They are the target of memes, vines and almost everything else in between, but for what reason? I’ll stand by the fact that I am a diehard Nickelback fan, and I’m not afraid to admit it.
Despite the stream of hate, the Canadian rockstars actually have quite the music resume, if you will. The band has been around since the mid-1990s and has officially produced nine studio albums, with its latest album, “Feed the Machine,” released last summer. Nickelback has lowkey been one of the most successful rock bands in the modern era simply because their existence is shrouded in skepticism.
Believe it or not, more than 50 million Nickelback albums have been sold worldwide. In the decade of the 2000s, the band was ranked as the 11th most-selling band in history and the second bestselling international group in the United States. In fact, four of their albums reached No. 1 status in the Top Rock Album category at some point and another album reached as high as No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Additionally, the group has created six Top-10 hits with songs like “How You Remind Me,” “Photograph” and “Rockstar.”
The argument that Nickelback has no talent is egregiously false. The band, headlined by lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, is more adept than most musical performers today. Maybe it’s the fact that he swears during concerts, or maybe it’s because he wears mostly black clothing or the fact that he takes shots on stage. Then again, maybe it’s his husky, bellowing voice that turns people off.
Not only is he the lead singer for the band, but he also takes the role of lead guitar. That just goes to show his talent. Unlike most other artists today, Nickelback writes its own songs, most of which have been the brainchild of Kroeger himself. He even underwent surgery to remove a cyst in his larynx that actually threatened his singing career, yet he recovered in time for the band to release a new album. But, don’t call it a comeback.
One of the main reasons why people don’t like Nickelback rests on morals more so than musical taste. Admittedly, some of the songs produced by the group, especially in their first couple of albums, include really hard-hitting rock pieces about obscene topics. Some of these topics include references to sexual acts, drugs and heavy drinking.
Despite this fact, that is the Nickelback of old, although flashes of their roots can still be heard in some more recent songs. The sound you hear today is much different than its former self. In the band’s more recent albums, one can hear a variety of pieces, which consist of everything from what Kroeger himself once defined as “rockers” all the way to softer love ballads. In video interviews, the band has said they have taken what the fans wanted to hear and incorporated those thoughts into new pieces. To me, that’s adaptation and dedication. And don’t try to tell me that all of their songs sound the same. That’s a load of crap; every group’s songs sound the same because each band has a distinctly unique sound attributed to them.
People think that when I tell them I listen to Nickelback that it’s some kind of joke, but the truth is, that’s a fact. I’m just bold enough to say it. If anything, I think all the hatred directed towards the group is more annoyance rather than an extreme dislike. I think everyone just bought a one-way ticket aboard the hate bandwagon. So, the next time someone says, “Look at this photograph…” well, you know the rest.
Luke Feliciano is a sophomore sport management and digital media double major. He is the Sports Page Editor for the Newswire from Rutherford, N.J.