Hero (Chad Kroeger song)

"Hero"
Single by Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott
from the album Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man and Silver Side Up (in some countries)
Released	April 2002
Recorded	2001-2002
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	3:21 (with orchestral background) 3:09 (with strings omitted)
Label	Roadrunner Records Sony BMG
Writer(s)	Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott and Tyler Connolly
Producer	Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger singles chronology
"Hero" (2002) "Why Don't You & I" (2004)
Alternative Cover iTunes Cover

"Hero" is a single by Chad Kroeger, the lead singer of Nickelback, featuring Josey Scott, the lead singer of Saliva, recorded in 2002 for the Spider-Man soundtrack. The recording also features Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman lead singer/guitarist), Mike Kroeger (Nickelback bassist), and Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam drummer). Jeremy Taggart (Our Lady Peace drummer)performs on the video.

There are two versions of this song, one with an orchestral background and one without.

Background

The song was the result of a collaboration between Kroeger and Scott. Scott told Yahoo!'s entertainment news service LAUNCH, "(Kroeger) had the idea for the song 'Hero,' so I came up to Vancouver and met him. He pitched me the idea, and I thought that was pretty dope. So we sort of tweaked it, together, laid down some harmonies on it, and played everything from congas to acoustics on it."

Matt Cameron, who played drums on the track, did not appear in the music video and cited "family issues" as the reason. He was replaced with Our Lady Peace drummer Jeremy Taggart.

Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell was originally picked to play the lead solo (later played by Connolly) but pulled out because he was concentrating on his solo album. He did, however, contribute to the soundtrack the song, "She Was My Girl".

Music video

The music video consists of the band, except for Matt Cameron, playing on top of a building in New York City, with footage of the movie spliced in between, and was directed by Nigel Dick.

The song has won at MTV Video Music Awards 2002 for the Best Video from a Film

Critical reception

Reviewing the song for NME, Imran Ahmed drew a strong comparison to "How You Remind Me", Kroeger's 2001 international breakthrough with Nickelback, calling the formula for both "Commercial grunge + MOR sensibility = Nu-MOR hit."

Chart performance

The song was featured on the soundtrack to Spider-Man and became a cross-genre hit in mid-2002, peaking at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and also winning considerable airplay at contemporary hit radio, hot adult contemporary and modern adult contemporary radio formats. "Hero" became 4× Platinum in the U.S. and 8× Platinum in Canada. It also did well in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four.

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	17
Austrian Singles Chart	8
Belgian Singles Chart	19
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Denmark Singles Chart	3
Dutch Singles Chart	22
French Singles Chart	27
German Singles Chart	8
Irish Singles Chart	2
Italian Singles Chart	11
Netherlands Singles Chart	34
New Zealand Singles Chart	10
Portugal Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	7
Swiss Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart	4
US Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	2

Preceded by "Seein' Red" by Unwritten Law	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single June 8–29, 2002	Succeeded by "By the Way" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Preceded by "I Stand Alone" by Godsmack	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single June 15–22, 2002	Succeeded by "Drift & Die" by Puddle of Mudd

Personnel

• Chad Kroeger of Nickelback - rhythm guitar, vocals
• Josey Scott of Saliva - acoustic guitar, vocals
• Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman - lead guitar
• Mike Kroeger of Nickelback - bass guitar
• Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden - drums
• Jeremy Taggart of Our Lady Peace - drums (music video)