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Nickelback

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This article is about the Canadian rock band. For the American football position, see Nickelback (American football).

Nickelback
Nickelback live on stage, 2006
Nickelback live on stage, 2006
Background information
OriginHanna, Alberta, Canada
GenresAlternative rock, post-grunge,[1] hard rock,[1] alternative metal,[1] heavy metal[2]
Years active1995–present
LabelsRoadrunner, Atlantic, EMI (Canada), LiveNation
MembersChad Kroeger
Ryan Peake
Mike Kroeger
Daniel Adair
Past membersRyan Vikedal
Brandon Kroeger
Mitch Guindon
Websitenickelback.com

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta, formed in 1995 by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and then-drummer Brandon Kroeger. While primarily a hard rock and post-grunge band, the group has also experimented with other musical styles such as pop and country. Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold over 35 million albums worldwide.[3] Nickelback ranks as the 11th best selling music act of the 2000s, and is the 2nd best selling foreign act in the U.S. behind The Beatles for the 2000s.[4] In December 2009, Nickelback were ranked 7th on Billboard Magazine's list of "Artists of the Decade" - both the highest-ranked band and the highest-ranked rock artist in the list.[5] Billboard Magazine also named Nickelback as the Adult Pop Artist of the decade.[6] The band has sold 21,000,000 album copies in the U.S.[7] The band is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its name originates from the nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his job at Starbucks; he would frequently say, "Here's your nickel back."[8] The band is signed to EMI in Canada and Roadrunner Records for the rest of the world. In July 2008, the band signed with Live Nation for three touring and album cycles, with an option for a fourth. The contract includes recordings, touring, merchandise and other rights.[9]

History

Early years (1995–2000)

Nickelback was formed in 1995 by Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger, and Brandon Kroeger. Nickelback's first release was a seven-track EP called Hesher in 1996.[10] In the same year, they also recorded their first full-length album Curb. "Fly" was included on both Hesher and Curb and was the first single produced by Nickelback. On 1997, Brandon Kroeger left the band and the band searched for a new drummer. In later 1997, Mitch Guindon join the band, but he decided to leave in 1998 because he started working in a Car Company. In Summer 1998, Ryan Vikedal joined the band.

Roadrunner A&R Ron Burman told HitQuarters that one of his West Coast scouts sent him the self-released album and, suitably impressed, he travelled to Vancouver to see them perform live. Although an unknown property in the industry at the time, the venue was packed out. In Burman's words: "I immediately got the chills! I thought their song "Leader of Men" was a smash hit."[11] Off the stage he was impressed by their industry and initiative in managing their career: Despite this it still took Burman three months for him to convince his label bosses' to approve the signing, a decision that would mark Roadrunner's first move into mainstream rock.[11] Nickelback signed a record deal with EMI and Roadrunner Records. In 1999, Roadrunner Records signed Nickelback because the band sold more than 10,000 copies of Hesher and their first album Curb as an independent label.

The State, was released by Nickelback in 2000 by Roadrunner Records and EMI. The State, was released in Europe in 2001. It spawned 4 singles , Old Enough, Worthy To Say, and the hits "Leader of Men" and "Breathe" which were Top 10 rock hits and resulted in the album being certificated gold in the United States in late 2001. It reached Platinum status in 2008, after the success of three consecutive multi-platinum efforts.[12] Nickelback toured with other bands such as Creed, SevenDust, and 3 Doors Down in their State tour. Nickelback won a Juno Award in 2001, for best new group. The State has sold over one million copies worldwide. The album entered the Billboard 200 albums charts in position number 130; it also entered the Billboard Top Heatseekers albums charts in number 3 in 2000.

Silver Side Up and The Long Road (2001–04)

In 2001 Nickelback released the Silver Side Up album. The single "How You Remind Me" was a number one single on the Mainstream and Modern rock charts, as well as the pop chart. It also peaked at number two on Adult Top 40 and became the Billboard Hot 100 number one single of the year for 2001. The next single was "Too Bad", which also reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Chart and had a small amount of success on the pop chart. The final single from the album was "Never Again", another number one hit on Mainstream Rock.

In 2002, Chad Kroeger collaborated with Josey Scott on the Spider-Man theme song, "Hero". This recording also featured Tyler Connolly, Mike Kroeger, Matt Cameron, and Jeremy Taggart. In 2002, Nickelback released their first DVD Live at Home. In 2002 they re-released their first album Curb, with RoadRunner Records. Silver Side Up has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

In 2003, Nickelback released The Long Road. It spawned five singles. The lead single was "Someday" and the album went on to sell five million copies worldwide.[13] The band also released "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" as a single, which peaked at number 3 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. "Figured You Out" was also released as a single and topped the Mainstream Rock Charts for 13 consecutive weeks.

All the Right Reasons (2005–07)

Nickelback's fifth studio album, All the Right Reasons (2005), produced five U.S. Hot 100 top 20 singles: "Photograph", "Savin' Me", "Far Away", "If Everyone Cared" and "Rockstar". Three of these became U.S. Hot 100 top 10 singles. All the Right Reasons had sold 7,357,944 copies in the US to June 19, 2010.[14] In total, All the Right Reasons has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide since its 2005 release. Aside from all the success of All the Right Reasons, lead singer Kroeger began his own label named 604 Records in 2005 and holds the position of executive producer. In early 2005, Ryan Videdal left the band and 3 Doors Down's drummer Daniel Adair joined Nickelback. The group was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2007.

Dark Horse (2008–10)

On September 4, 2008, Roadrunner Records announced that the first single from the upcoming album would be "If Today Was Your Last Day", to be released on September 30, 2008. However, the song was replaced by "Gotta Be Somebody".[15] The new album, produced by Mutt Lange and titled Dark Horse, was released on November 18, 2008.[16] "Something in Your Mouth" was released as the second single to rock radio only on 15 December, where it reached number one. "If Today Was Your Last Day" was released as the third single. Four more singles were released, "I'd Come for You", "Burn It to the Ground" (which would become the theme for WWE RAW) and "Never Gonna Be Alone" released in September and "Shakin' Hands" as the seventh single on 16 November.[17] Its eighth single, "This Afternoon", was released on March 23, 2010. On February 28, 2010, Nickelback gave a performance at the beginning of the concert portion of the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, performing "Burn It to the Ground". On October 2010 Nickelback finished their Dark Horse Tour.[18]

Chad Kroeger said in an interview with Billboard.com in September 2010 that songwriting for the next Nickelback album was planned to commence as early as February 2011 with "about four tunes" already in mind.[19] Adair mentioned that the band wanted to go back to the musical style of All The Right Reasons, which he described as "more organic."[20]

Here and Now (2011-present)

Nickelback announced their new album, Here and Now, on September 8, 2011, along with its two lead singles, "Bottoms Up" and "When We Stand Together". The album will be released on November 21, 2011, with the band calling it Nickelback Monday, while the two singles will be released to radio stations on September 26, and September 27 for purchase on iTunes.[21]

Critical reception

At various points in their career Nickelback has received widespread negative reviews from various sources. Review aggregator Metacritic reports that three of their six most recent studio albums since becoming a mainstream act, The Long Road, All the Right Reasons and Dark Horse, have scores of 62%, 41% and 49% respectively.[22][23][24] Criticism tends to focus on the band's themes of "strippers, sex, prostitutes, drugs, sex, drinking and sex",[25] for being derivative in the music they create, as well as too often sticking to formula instead of innovating.[26]

Despite a barrage of criticism Nickelback has still managed to please some reviewers with each of their mainstream albums. Allmusic reviewer Liana Jones complimented Nickelback after their commercial breakthrough, Silver Side Up; "what gives the group an upper hand over its peers is intensity and raw passion... Nickelback ups the ante by offering realistic storytelling that listeners can relate to."[27] Following their 2008 album, Dark Horse, ChartAttack credited the band's success to knowing their target audience: "Chad Kroeger is a genius because he knows exactly what people want and precisely how far he can go. He turned out an extremely racy album that's loaded with songs about gettin' drunk and doin' it all without breaking any taboos, and with enough love and moral authority to grease its passage into the mainstream. Rejoice, North America. This is your world."[28] Billboard gave praise to the band: "The bulletproof Nickelback provides affordable fun that promises good returns in hard times."[29] Also various fellow musicians like Chris Martin of Coldplay[30] as well as R&B singer Timbaland[31] support the band.

Discography

Main article: Nickelback discography

Band members

Current members
  • Chad Kroeger – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar (1995–present)
  • Ryan Peake – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (1995–present)
  • Mike Kroeger – bass (1995–present)
  • Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2005–present)
Former members
  • Brandon Kroeger – drums (1995–1997)
  • Mitch Guindon – drums (1997)
  • Ryan Vikedal – drums (1997–2005)

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Nickelback

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p410589
  2. ^ http://allmusic.com/artist/nickelback-p410589/
  3. ^ "Nickelback & Tapulous Help Players Find Their Inner Rockstar". BusinessWire. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 Album Sellers Of The 2000s - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  5. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/artists-of-the-decade?year=2009
  6. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/adult-pop-artists?year=2009
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum - August 09, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  8. ^ Nickelback: Biography Rolling Stone
  9. ^ Sisario, Ben (8 July 2008). "Nickelback Signs Up With Live Nation". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  10. ^ "CANOE - JAM! Music - Artists - Nickelback: First Nickelback CD soars in value". Jam.canoe.ca. 2 October 2001. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Interview with Ron Burman". HitQuarters. 23 Apr 2002. Retrieved 19 Nov 2010.
  12. ^ "Gold & Platinum - February 14, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  13. ^ "Nickelback". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  14. ^ "A TON of SoundScan sales charts leaked last week". S15.zetaboards.com. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  15. ^ Mainstream Top 40 Add Dates FMQB.com. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  16. ^ "Nickleback Announce New Album". Komodorock.com. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  18. ^ "Nickelback Say Last Nights Performance Was Something We Will Never Forget". Roadrunner News. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  19. ^ "Nickelback's Chad Kroeger Eyes Spring Start for Next Album". Billboard.com. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  20. ^ "Nickelback: 'I Guess The Bigger You Are, The More Haters you Have'". Ultimate Guitar. 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  21. ^ "Nickelback New Album "Here And Now" Coming November 21". Rockstar Weekly Magazine. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  22. ^ "The Long Road reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  23. ^ "All The Right Reasons reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  24. ^ "Dark Horse reviews at". Metacritic.com. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  25. ^ Bimm, Jordan. "NOW Magazine // Music // Nickelback". Nowtoronto.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  26. ^ "Evalu8". Evalu8. 2003-09-22. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  27. ^ "Silver Side Up". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  28. ^ "Nickelback's Dark Horse For Dark Times". CHARTattack. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  29. ^ "Nickelback - Dark Horse CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  30. ^ "Coldplay's Chris Martin: 'Nickelback Are A Great Band'". Gigwise. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  31. ^ 01/26/10 1:46pm by Kate Harper (CHARTattack). "Timbaland Hearts Nickelback". CHARTattack. Retrieved 2010-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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