There may not be an artist more hated or the subject of crueler jokes than Nickelback. That never stopped the Canadian post-grunge quartet from selling tons of albums and concert tickets. Here are 5 things you should know about the rock favorites who kick off their North American tour Monday night Get rolling at the Videotron Center in Quebec.
• Also read: Show at the Videotron Center: Nickelback repeats ‘until the wee hours’
hate down
“If you play a Nickelback song backwards, you hear messages from the devil. It’s worse if you play it upright because you’ll hear Nickelback. Such devastating outlets have been circulating in abundance on the Internet for years. Thankfully, things seem to be calming down, according to singer Chad Kroeger. “It’s really good not to be public enemy number one,” he recently told an American radio station.
On a pass from McDavid
The Nickelback boys are careful not to take it as sweet revenge on their critics, but are proud to have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at March’s Juno Awards. The moment was made even more magical when Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid took the stage to introduce them. “That was the icing on the cake,” guitarist Ryan Peake said in a recent interview with Le Journal.
million albums
How did Nickelback earn a place in the Hall of Fame alongside legends like Neil Young, Bryan Adams and Rush? By selling albums like hotcakes. The quartet burst onto the music scene at the turn of the millennium, when compact discs were still selling in large numbers, and were propelled by the immense success of the song How You Remind Me, which has sold more than 50 million copies of their albums over the past quarter century.
Stuffy nose everywhere
Nickelback members say they work very hard and leave nothing to chance. They are involved in all aspects of the group, including photo shoots, says Ryan Peake. “They tell us to wear this or that. We don’t mind being open-minded, but these photos will be around forever. You might as well add your two cents.”
A first in Quebec for… 16 years
Strange as it may seem for a Canadian group of their stature, Nickelback will be taking the stage in Quebec for the first time since 2007. The quartet was due to complete the Festival d’été in 2015, but the show was canceled when Chad Kroeger had to undergo vocal cord surgery.
- The trip Get rolling will be making a stop at the Bell Center in Montreal on Wednesday evening.