A study has been conducted to find out why people hate Nickelback.
Finnish doctoral student Salli Anttonen is researching the concept of authenticity in music at the University of Eastern Finland. Her paper Hypocritical Bullshit Performed Through Gritted Teeth: Authenticity Discourses in Nickelback’s Album Reviews in Finnish Media finds that negative feedback directed towards the band has risen as they’ve become more commercially successful.
Anttonen tells Buzzfeed: “They were a good case in point because they are so widely accused of lacking authenticity.
She adds that critiques were “not about the sound, but what values are attached to the sounds.” She wrote that “by nullifying Nickelback’s authenticity, critics are actually authenticating themselves.”
Anttonen also says that critics seek to assert their authority by ridiculing Nickelback in the media as they see themselves as protectors of authenticity and originality in rock music.
She adds: “The fact that the compositions suit the radio charts is a problem for critics. So then the songs are not authentic self expression, or have been made with commercial purposes in mind, rather than expressing your deepest emotions.
“Nickelback is too much of everything to be enough of something. They follow genre expectations too well, which is seen as empty imitation, but also not well enough, which is read as commercial tactics and as a lack of a stable and sincere identity.”
The band have rescheduled their Europe tour to this autumn after Chad Kroeger was forced to pull out last year following surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.
NICKELBACK EUROPEAN TOUR 2016
Sep 02: Helsinki Hartwell Arena, Finland
Sep 04: Oslo Spektrum, Norway
Sep 06: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
Sep 08: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark
Sep 10: Kaunas Zalgiris, Lithuania
Sep 13: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Sep 15: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Sep 16: Budapest Sportarena, Hungary
Sep 17: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
Sep 21: Warsaw Torwar, Poland
Sep 23: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Sep 24: HSH Nordbank Arena, Germany
Sep 24: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, Germany
Sep 26: Berlin Mercedes Benz Arena, Germany
Sep 27: Cologne Lanxess Arena, Germany
Sep 29: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Sep 30: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Oct 02: Mannheim SAP Arena, Germany
Oct 03: Amsterdam Ziggodome, Netherlands
Oct 12: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Oct 14: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
Oct 15: Sheffield Arena, UK
Oct 17: London Wembley Arena, UK
Oct 19: Manchester Arena, UK
Oct 20: London O2 Arena, UK
Oct 22: Liverpool Echo Arena, UK
Oct 24: Glasgow Hydro, UK
Oct 25: Newcastle Arena, UK
