Nickelback is loved by its audience. Critics pay no less attention to the band. Without a doubt, this is the most popular rock band of the early 21st century. Nickelback simplified the aggressive sound in the music of the 90s, adding uniqueness and originality to arena rock, which turned out to be so necessary for millions of fans.
Critics dismissed the band's heavy emotional style, embodied in frontman Chad Kroeger's deep sound production, but rock's most popular profile radio stations kept Nickelback's albums on the charts through the 2000s.
Nickelback: WHERE IT ALL STARTED?
Initially, they were a cover band from Hannah, a small town located in Alberta, Canada. Nickelback was formed in 1995 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Chad Robert Kroeger (born November 15, 1974) and his brother, bassist Michael Kroeger (born June 25, 1972).
The group got its name from Mike, who worked as a cashier at Starbucks, where he often gave away nickels (five cents) in exchange for paying customers. The Kroeger brothers were soon joined by their cousin Brandon Kroeger as drummer and an old friend named Ryan Pick (born March 1, 1973) as guitarist/backing vocalist.
As these four talented guys came up with the concept of performing their own songs, they decided to travel to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1996 to record their compositions in a friend's studio. The result was their first album titled "Hesher" which had only seven songs.
The guys recorded albums, but things didn't work out the way they wanted, mostly due to the fact that radio broadcasters have to broadcast a certain percentage of content.
Everything was cool, but everything went slowly, there was no such boom that the group wanted. And during the recording process of their material at Turtle Recording Studios in Richmond, British Columbia, Brandon suddenly announced his intention to leave the band as he wanted to pursue a different career path.
Despite this loss, the remaining members were able to record 'Curb' on their own in September 1996 with the help of producer Larry Anschell. And so it began, it was all over the radio, and even had a video made for one of the tracks, 'Fly', which can often be seen on Much Music.
It was an initial success that helped boost the band's status.
Nickelback Hits
Nickelback's first major Roadrunner album was released in 2001. Silver Side Up announced the band's sonic strategy in its first two songs, "Never Again," which deals with domestic violence at the hands of an alleged child, and "How You Remind Me," a fairy tale about a destructive relationship.
These hits, which reached No. XNUMX on the mainstream rock charts, opened the door for Nickelback. "How You Remind Me" topped the pop charts, Silver Side Up went six times platinum, and Nickelback suddenly became the most successful rock band in the country.
Nickelback returned from The Long Road two years later. Despite not having a breakthrough with "How You Remind Me", The Long Road still sold over 3 million copies in the US.
If Silver Side Up laid the groundwork and got Nickelback talking, The Long Road simply followed the plan, resulting in a gripping follow-up. “Someday” was a hit, but it was “Figured You Out” that proved even more interesting: a rocker’s tale of an unhealthy sexual relationship built around abuse and drugs.
FORWARD AT FULL SPEED
Beginning in 2005, Nickelback became synonymous with soulless corporate rock in the minds of many hipsters. But, in any case, the album "All the Right Reasons", in which a new drummer Daniel Adair has already joined the group, has become even more popular than the previous ones.
The lead single, "Photograph," a poignantly nostalgic song about Chad Kroeger's teenage years, reached No. 10 on the pop charts, and four singles reached the Top XNUMX on the popular rock charts. Nickelback hadn't evolved musically, but their hard rock was clearly in high demand.
In 2008, Nickelback signed a deal with Live Nation to continue touring and distributing albums. Additionally, the band's sixth studio album, Dark Horse, hit record stores on November 17, 2008, and the first single, "Gotta Be Somebody," was released to radio in late September.
The album was created in collaboration with Robert John "Mutt" Lange (producer/songwriter), known for producing albums for AC/DC and Def Leppard. Dark Horse became Nickelback's fourth multi-platinum album, selling over three million copies in the US alone and spending 125 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart.
This was followed by the release of their seventh album 'Here and Now' on November 21, 2011. Despite a decline in overall rock album sales, it sold 227 copies in its first week and then went on to sell over 000 million copies worldwide.
The band promoted the album with their extensive 2012-2013 Here and Now Tour, which was one of the most successful tours of all time.
THE DECLINE WHICH WAS EXPECTED
With the release of their eighth album 'No Fixed Address' on November 14, 2014, the band faced declining sales. The band's first Republic Records release, after leaving Roadrunner Records in 2013, was a commercial disappointment.
The album sold 80 copies in its first week and has yet to achieve gold status (000 copies) in the U.S. Some songs, such as "Got Me Runnin' Round" featuring rapper Flo Rida, also didn't quite click with listeners.
The drop in album sales also reflects an industry-wide decline in rock album sales.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NICKELBACK
- Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian bands, with album sales exceeding 50 million worldwide. The band was also the second-best-selling band in the United States in the 2000s. Who was number one? The Beatles.
- The quartet has won 12 Juno Awards, two American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards and seven Much Music Video Awards. They have been nominated for six Grammys.
- Nickelback never cared about being criticized by so many people. And in 2014, members of the group reported to the National Post that the hate directed at the group forced them to grow thick skin, Kroeger said it did more good than harm.
- Their latest album was released in 2014 and was called No Fixed Address. Of course, many fans are hoping for a release in 2016 as well, but something went wrong.
- They collaborated with the makers of the Spider-Man movie. When the Spiderman soundtrack, known as "Hero", was released, it stayed on the charts for several months.
