Why Do People Hate Nickelback? Film To Tackle The Answer

We’re getting a new documentary about Nickelback. Less about their music or influence over the music world, Hate To Love: Nickelback will explore just why the Canadian rockers have become one of the most-hated musical groups of our time.

The trailer follows the band as they take arena stages and tracks Nickelback from their beginnings to becoming a hated yet loved band that still sells truckloads of tickets.

“Nobody picks up a guitar to be the most hated band in the world,” guitarist Ryan Peake said in the trailer. Vocalist Chad Kroeger added in another candid moment, “We try to laugh it off. You can laugh off about 90 per cent of it. Some of it… it hurts.”

Perhaps detailing his survival method, the singer revealed that he’s not out on stage trying to win over the haters. “I play Nickelback songs to Nickelback fans, so I don’t have to go and try to win over someone who doesn’t like my band,” he said.

Hate To Love: Nickelback was directed by British filmmaker Leigh Brooks and will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from 7-17 September. You can watch the trailer below.

Earlier this year, Kroeger told the Arizona radio station KFMA that he believes there’s been a “softening” around the hate for Nickelback.

“I’m not sure if it’s because we receive a ton of love on TikTok or whatever the hell it is, but for whatever reason, the teeth have kind of been removed,” he said. “It’s really nice, it’s really nice to not be Public Enemy Number One.”

When questioned about why the band were so maligned for many years, the singer ruminated that oversaturation on the radio led to much of the hatred. As the documentary notes, Nickelback were the most-played rock band on radio stations in the early 2000s.

“That type of oversaturation could piss people off,” he remarked. “But at the end of the day, we’re just a band that makes music.”

In April, Loudwire cited a 2019 interview where Lizzo defended Nickelback. She revealed her love for the band during a game of Jam Or Not A Jam with CBC Music, and the band's 2001 single How You Remind Me started playing.

That’s when she said, “Why do people not like Nickelback? I think that this is a jam. It has a beautiful climax . . . everybody knows this melody... I think they get a lot of shit because [vocalist Chad Kroeger] had a curly blonde perm. That’s the only reason why they get shit ‘cause this is an amazing song.”

This morning, The Music reported that Lizzo has been sued for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment by her former dancers.