Mike Kroeger thinks Nickelback is a ‘normal’ band.
In a new interview with Grammy, the Nickelback guitarist said that some of the criticism they face comes from ‘another way people see rock stars.’ He mentioned bands like Queen and U2, and artists like Prince, as examples of musicians and rock stars who people think are really special. He also said that they were nowhere close to those artists and they were a ‘normal’ band:
“Then they look at us and they’re like, What makes these guys so [special]? Why do they deserve this? They’re just normal guys. Why them? And I don’t disagree with that. It’s true. We are just normal guys. We’re not Prince, we’re not weirdos. So then the question is: Why should anybody think that we’re that special? And the answer is they shouldn’t. They just shouldn’t. We don’t think they should. It just turns out people really like the music, and I don’t want to argue with that. I’m not mad at it.”
Being ‘Normal’ Comes With A Price
Throughout their career, Nickelback faced a great amount of criticism. Some think the band hasn’t released enough truly original material so far and that they are objectively boring.
The criticism went so far that it even appeared as memes on the internet.
The band has been a subject of internet memes for years, and while there’s no clear reason why, some say it’s because their lyrics often cover the same themes and are repetitive. Others simply argue that the band’s music isn’t very good overall.
Nickelback Is Glad For Fans’ Genuineness
While the criticism and negative comments are still going, the band is grateful that there are fans who don’t see the band as a guilty pleasure. Nickelback discussed this issue in an interview with 13News Now, and shared their thoughts on fans who can proudly support them without feeling guilty. Chad Kroeger also revealed the key factor that put a stop to people constantly joking about and mocking the band:
“It’s nice. We’ve stopped being everyone’s guilty pleasure, and we’ve just turned into the band that people enjoy. You no longer have to hide that you’re a Nickelback fan. It’s out there. We definitely went through it, we paid our dues. We went through the whole meme joke thing, and we came up the other side. Thank you, TikTok, for whatever reason, making it not cool to pick on the band anymore, which is very fun for us.”
