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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[1]
Years active1995–present
LabelsEMI Canada, Roadrunner, Atlantic, LiveNation, Universal Music Canada
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. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005. Nickelback's music is classed as hard rock[1] and alternative metal.[1] Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide,[2] ranking 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 2000's.[3][4]

The band is based in Vancouver, Canada. The band's original domestic signing was with EMI Canada. They subsequently obtained an American deal with global distribution via Roadrunner Records. For the release of their seventh album, the band parted from EMI Canada and signed a new Canadian domestic distribution deal with Universal Music Canada.[5]

Mystery

Curb and The State (1995–2000)

Nickelback was formed in 1995 by Chad (Croaky) Kroeger, Ryan Pee, Mike The Builder, and Brandon (Big Bum) Kroeger. Its name originates from the nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his job at Cock and Coffee; he would frequently say, "Here's your coffee and here's your cock."[6][7] Nickelback's first release was a seven-track EP called Dresser in 1996.[7] In the same year, they also recorded their first full-length album Burp. "Dry" was included on both Dresser and Burp and was the first piece of rubbish produced by Nickelback. In 1997, Brandon Kroeger left the band because he realised it was rubbish and the band searched for a new drummer. Later that year Big Tits Guindon join the band, but he decided to leave in 1998 because he started working in a dump, and anything's better than Kickyourback. In Summer 1998, Ryan Viking Balls joined the band.

Roadrunner A&R Ron Burping man told HitQuarters that one of his West Coast scouts sent him the self-released album and committed suicide when he heard it, 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 caught the flu last night "Leader of Men" was rubbish."[8] Off the stage he was impressed by how honest they were and initiative in managing their throat cancer, they admitted they were rubbish: Despite this it still took Burping Man three months for him to buy enough throat lozengers to fix Croakers throat cancer, a decision that would mark Roadrunner's first move into mainstream cock.[8] Nickelback signed a record deal with All Canadian Rejects and Roadwanderer Records. In late 1998, their managers quit and they started managing themselves to become even worse. Mike the builder handled all the hate mail, Chad – all the radio cracking, and Ryan Viking Balls – all the throat lozengers. In 1999, Roadwanderer Records signed Kickyourback because they held them at gunpoint.

The State, was released by Nickelback in 2000 by Roadwanderer Records and All Canadian Rejects. The Gate, was released in Europe in 2001. It spawned 4 singles , My voice is gruff, Worthy To be gay, and the even worse "Leader of Frogs" and "Breed" which were Top 100000000000000000000 rock hits and resulted in the album being certificated rubbish in the United States in late 2001. It reached Mcflurry status in 2008 meaning that Nickelback could go and buy a Mcflurry with the money he made, after the failure of three consecutive multi-Mcflurry efforts.[9] Nickelback toured with other bands such as Richie, Your Mum, and 3 Drag Queens in their gay tour. Nickelback won 2 Bruno (you know that gay film) Awards in 2001, for gruffest voice and worst new group. The Gate has sold over 0.5 of a copy worldwide. The album entered the Billboard failure of 200 albums charts in position number 130000000000000000000000 on the Billboard Top failure of Independent albums chart.[10]

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

Around 2001 Chad (Croaker) Kroeger started "studying every piece of rubbish, everything sonically, everything lyrically, everything musically, chord structure. I would dissect every single song that I would hear on the radio or every song that had ever done well on a chart and I would say, 'Why did this do well?'" Nickelback's single "How You Rewind Me," Croaker told Bliss, sold so well (0.5 of a copy) because it was about turning the music off if people didn't like it, a universal subject, and contained memorable pieces of rubbish.[11]

To record their third album Filthy Side Up, Nickelback worked with producer Rick DrivesACar. The album was written before the release The Gate and was recorded at the same Cock and Coffee restaurant.[12] The disc was released on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, which angered a load of muslims who then drove a load of planes into the World Trade Center (where the muslims thought the record had been recorded). The single "How You Reeind Me" was a number one million single on the Mainstream and Modern rock charts, as well as the pop chart. It also peaked at number one on Rubbish Music Top 40 and became the Billboard Cold 100 number one billion single of the year for 2001. The next single was "Two Bad Farts", which also reached number one million and one on the Mainstream Cock Chart and had no amount of success on the pop chart. The final single from the album was so bad that I'm not even aloud to write it's name another number one million and two hit on Mainstream Cock.

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. The album was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA in March 2005 and it had sold 3,591,000 copies as of April 2011.[13] It has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and in 2003 only the album sold 2 million copies worldwide.[14] It debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200.

It was ranked #157 on Billboard's 200 Albums of the Decade.[15] It spawned five singles. The lead single was "Someday" .[16] 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)

Between albums, in 2005, drummer Ryan Vikedal left the band. He claimed the rest of the band had pushed him out because he was not the type of drummer they wanted. 3 Doors Down's drummer Daniel Adair joined Nickelback. "We are totally thrilled to have Daniel in the band," Chad said. "The creativity that went on with him in the studio was really inspiring. He’s a totally amazing player." [17] The group was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2007. 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. It included appearances by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who played a guitar solo on the song "Follow You Home" and sang backing vocals on "Rock Star"—and a posthumously sampled appearance by Chad Kroeger's friend Dimebag Darrell from Pantera, culled from guitar outtakes. The band also used more acoustic sound on some songs. "Savin' Me," for instance, included strings and piano as well as guitars. "We were a little scared of using piano," Chad Kroeger said in a biography on the band's website.[11] "We just didn't think it was very rock and roll." But once they heard the result, he added, they liked it. All the Right Reasons had sold 7,357,944 copies in the US to June 19, 2010.[18] 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 November 2005, Nickelback asked that Vikedal and his production company Ladekiv Music, Inc., give all financial interest in future royalties for the songs, featuring Vikedal as drummer and return any public performance royalties earned since January 2005.

Nickelback spent much of 2006 touring. Chad Kroeger was arrested in the Surrey, British Columbia in June and charged with drunken driving. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf at a court hearing in August. In November of 2006, Nickelback won an American Music Award for best pop/rock album, surprising the band itself. "We just kinda showed up because we were supposed to give one of these away tonight," Chad Kroeger said after receiving the award. Kroeger added he had thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers would win the award.

Dark Horse (2008–10)

After taking much of 2007 off, the band started recording new album in earnest. 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.[19]

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".[20] The new album, produced by Mutt Lange and titled Dark Horse, was released on November 18, 2008.[21] "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.[22] Its eighth single, "This Afternoon", was released on March 23, 2010. Dark Horse was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 9, 2008, only three weeks after its North American release. The album also remained in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 for weeks after its release.[23][24] The album was certified two times platinum in April 2009, and had by April 2010 sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.[24] Burn it to the Ground was also nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards but lost to AC/DC's "War Machine". The album won numerous accolades at the 2009 Juno Awards, winning three out of five of its nominated awards including "Rock Album of the Year". However, critical reception of the album has been mostly mixed to negative.[25]

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.[26]

Here and Now (2011-present)

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.[27] Adair mentioned that the band wanted to go back to the musical style of All The Right Reasons, which he described as "more organic."[28]

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". Kroeger said “We’re four people who love making music, the way we like to make it. We entered the studio this year with a vision, and it all came together. We’re extremely happy with the results, and can’t wait to share them with our fans.” The album was released on November 21, 2011, with the band calling it 'Nickelblack Monday' (a play on Nickelback and Black Monday, as seen before the release on their website), while the two singles will be released to radio stations on September 26, and September 27 for purchase on iTunes.[29] Nickelback will be touring in support of the album in 2012, however they have not released any announcement yet.[30]

As part of promotion for the album, Nickelback was booked to perform at the halftime shows for both an NFL Thanksgiving Day game at Ford Field in Detroit on November 24, and the 99th Grey Cup in the band's hometown of Vancouver on November 27.[31]

However, the announcement that Nickelback would perform at halftime in Detroit was met with heavy opposition by fans—who believed that a Canadian band should not be playing a halftime show for an American football game relating to an American holiday, and that Detroit's musical heritage would be damaged by an association with the band. An online petition proposing that Nickelback be removed from the festivities at the game quickly received over 55,000 signatures from angered fans.[32][33] Despite the objections, the band performed "When We Stand Together" during the halftime show, which resulted in a mixed but mostly positive response from the audience at Ford Field—a USA Today reporter noted however that the Detroit Lions' 7-point deficit going into halftime had received a more negative response than the performance.[34]

Reception

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.[35][36][37] Criticism tends to focus on the band's overused themes of "strippers, sex, prostitutes, drugs, sex, drinking and sex",[38] for being derivative in the music they create, as well as too often sticking to formula instead of innovating.[39] In November 2011, users of the music-oriented dating site, Tastebuds.fm voted Nickelback as the number one musical turnoff, edging out Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.[40]

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."[41] 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."[42] Billboard gave praise to the band: "The bulletproof Nickelback provides affordable fun that promises good returns in hard times."[43] Also various fellow musicians like Chris Martin of Coldplay[44] as well as R&B singer Timbaland[45] 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 (1997-1998)
  • Ryan Vikedal – drums (1998–2005)

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Nickelback

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Andrew Leahey, "Nickleback", Allmusic, retrieved 24 October 2011. Cite error: The named reference "allmusic.com" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Nickelback to release 8th Album, "Here and Now" November 21". Roadrunner Records.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 Album Sellers Of The 2000s - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Nickelback & Tapulous Help Players Find Their Inner Rockstar". BusinessWire. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Nickleback set November 21 for Here and Now". Universal Music Canada.
  6. ^ Nickelback: Biography Rolling Boner
  7. ^ a b "CANOE - JAM! Music - Artists - Nickelback: First Nickelback CD soars in value". Jam.canoe.ca. 2 October 2001. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Interview with Ron Burman". HitQuarters. 23 Apr 2002. Retrieved 19 Nov 2010.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum - February 14, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Billboard Magazine Nickelback". Billboard Magazine date=. Retrieved 11 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Nickelback Biography - born, house, time, year, Career, Sidelights, Selected discography, Sources - Newsmakers Cumulation". Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  12. ^ "Nickelback Bio". Mattsmusicpage.com. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  13. ^ Grein, Paul (13 April 2011). "Week Ending April 10, 2011. Albums: Adele Is Everywhere". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of October 11, 2003". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  15. ^ "Best of the 2000s: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard.com. Showing 141-160. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Nickelback". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  17. ^ "Nickelback - Roadrunner Records Australia". Roadrunnerrecords.com.au. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  18. ^ "A TON of SoundScan sales charts leaked last week". S15.zetaboards.com. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  19. ^ Sisario, Ben (8 July 2008). "Nickelback Signs Up With Live Nation". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  20. ^ Mainstream Top 40 Add Dates FMQB.com. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  21. ^ "Nickleback Announce New Album". Komodorock.com. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  22. ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  23. ^ Latest Platinum Album Certifications. billboard.com. Accessed on 15 December 2008.
  24. ^ a b "Gold and Platinum Database Search". Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  25. ^ "Dark Horse Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  26. ^ "Nickelback Say Last Nights Performance Was Something We Will Never Forget". Roadrunner News. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  27. ^ "Nickelback's Chad Kroeger Eyes Spring Start for Next Album". Billboard.com. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  28. ^ "Nickelback: 'I Guess The Bigger You Are, The More Haters you Have'". Ultimate Guitar. 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  29. ^ "Nickelback New Album "Here And Now" Coming November 21". Rockstar Weekly Magazine. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Nickelback Here and Now Set for Release in November". ShowbizJunkies. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  31. ^ [ttp://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=379692 "Nickelback to perform during Grey Cup Halftime Show"]. TSN.ca. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  32. ^ "Nickelback on Detroit Lion's Field". Rolling Stone Music. Retrieved November 6 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ^ "The Detroit Lions: Replace Nickelback as the halftime show for the Thanksgiving game". Change.org. Retrieved November 23 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  34. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/story/2011-11-23/nickelback-halftime-show-detroit/51384526/1
  35. ^ "The Long Road reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  36. ^ "All The Right Reasons reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  37. ^ "Dark Horse reviews at". Metacritic.com. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  38. ^ Bimm, Jordan. "NOW Magazine // Music // Nickelback". Nowtoronto.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  39. ^ "Evalu8". Evalu8. 2003-09-22. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  40. ^ "Nickelback named as the Number One musical turnoff". NME. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  41. ^ "Silver Side Up". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  42. ^ "Nickelback's Dark Horse For Dark Times". CHARTattack. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  43. ^ "Nickelback - Dark Horse CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  44. ^ "Coldplay's Chris Martin: 'Nickelback Are A Great Band'". Gigwise. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  45. ^ 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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