Jesse Carey, editor for the podcast RELEVANT, is now doing what no man has done before. In what he calls “the ultimate test of human endurance,” Jesse Carey will listen to one hundred and sixty-eight hours of nonstop Nickelback. That’s twenty-four hours a day for seven days. The reason Carey may be causing “irreversible damage to my ears, brain, kidneys, and soul” is to raise money and awareness for Charity: Water. A starting goal of ten thousand dollars and Carey’s hopes to raise enough to build a well have already been exceeded; his Nickelback marathon earned him over eighteen thousand dollars in only two days. Carey promises no matter how much is raised, “100% of funds will go to clean water projects in the field.”
While Carey may be the first to use his hatred of Nickelback for good, the award-winning band are used to the backlash. In May 2014, MVP Ryan Howard had to defend his musical choice after fans of the first baseman held up a sign that read: “Ryan Howard listens to Nickelback.” In 2012 a Detroit Lions fan, Dennis Guttman, started an online petition to protest the Lions-Packers Thanksgiving game, and during a 2008 Portugal show they were booed off stage. Despite the band’s outspoken naysayers, Nickelback has produced several Billboard 200 hits and sold over fifty million albums worldwide.
Nickelback’s 2001 album, Silver Side Up, produced their biggest hit, “How You Remind Me,” which peaked number one on both American and Canadian charts. Produced by Rick Parashar, Silver Side Up sold over 177,000 copies during the first week. Both its second and third single were hits on the Mainstream Rock chart. The Long Road, Nickelback’s fourth album, was certified three times platinum in March 2005 and debuted at number six on Billboard 200. Not only has the album sold over five million copies worldwide, but it ranks number one hundred fifty-seven on Billboard’s 200 Albums of the Decade. “Feeling Way too Damn Good,” the second single off the album, peaked at number three on the mainstream rock charts as did “Figured You Out.”
In 2005, the band released All the Right Reasons, which hit number one on Billboard 200 and produced five U.S. Hot 100 top twenty singles and made the band the first band in Nielsen BDS history to have singles on the CHR charts. All the Right Reasons has sold over seven million copies and won the band an American Music Award for Best Pop/Rock album.
Dark Horse, produced by Mutt Lange, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America only three weeks after its North American release. Though the album was received with mixed to negative reviews, Dark Horse was certified two times platinum in 2009 and has sold more than three million copies in the U.S. Their most recent album, No Fixed Address, was released November 2014.
Chad Kroeger, Nickelback’s frontman, has collaborated with several artists creating hits such as “Hero”, from 2002’s Spider-Man; “Why Don’t You and I,” off Santana’s album Shaman; and Travis Tritt’s album, The Storm. Besides doing guest vocals, Kroeger has co-wrote several songs for artists such as Daughtry, Tim McGraw, and most recently, One Direction. When an Instagram photo showed Kroeger with One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne hanging out late last month, Kroger explained that One Direction had contacted him and asked “If I was gonna be in town and if I would like to come down to the studio and come up with some ideas on a song, just do a little songwriting.”