“Burn It to the Ground” peaked on charts around the world. I browse YouTube to listen to live videos of the band, hoping that this will add fuel to my fire to answer the burning question. I come across a video titled “Nickelback Quitting in Portugal” (Hetherington, n.p.). A crowd of over five thousand people in a venue literally boo them off of the stage after the band threatens to walk offstage due to no reaction from the crowd.
“Have we got any Nickelback fans in Portugal?” Chad Kroeger shouts. A lukewarm reaction from the crowd prompts Kroeger to ask, “Ya sure?”
The crowd begins to boo and debris is getting thrown onto the stage.
“It’s up to you guys. Do you wanna see some rock n’ roll, or do you wanna go home?” he asks.
Silence fills the arena as Kroeger and the band pace around the stage.
“See ya!” he says, as he flips his middle finger to the crowd and storms offstage.
But what if I were to ask, is it all an act? Does Nickelback purposely butcher their songs, knowing that no matter how many haters type away online, or how many people boo them at shows they are still one of the most name-dropped artists around? Do the opinions of those critics who claim that they suck not matter at all?
No, they do not matter.
In the end, it all boils down to money, and Nickelback has plenty of it. As I mentioned above, Nickelback has had songs top song charts all around the world, and they have sold millions of records worldwide. Billboard even has them in an official list that ranks them as the number seven best-selling artist of the 2000s.