How did Nickelback gain a large fan base despite criticism of their music?

Yay! Nickleback!

(Nickleback? They suck. Who cares…)

Hey, man, that band I told you about, Nickleback? The dropped their sophomore. It’s really good. Check it out.

Why do so many people seem to hate Nickelback? They're competent and entertaining, and while they certainly aren't the absolute best music, they're still a fun listen.

Here’s my ranking of Nickleback’s discography. They don’t have a bad album at all. But some are better than others. In last place is their most recent album. I felt it was very uninspired. This track is the best one and that track is pretty good. But the rest of the album doesn’t do much for me…

—

(Yeah, it was great at first. But I have heard it a bit too much.)

How can she get her mouth taped shut? She should not have freedom of speech.

(Nickleback sucks! They’re the worst band ever! I can’t stand them. Why do so many people like them? So unoriginal!)

Hey, have you heard of this new band, Nickleback? Their first album is pretty cool.

Something like that. Millions of people love them. Millions claim to hate them. The most honest criticism of the music is that it sounds like it’s being written deliberately for a particular market. I haven’t heard anything since around 2002 or so, so I can’t say for myself. They don’t suck as in bad musicians or bad song writers. They just sell millions of albums while other excellent bands struggle. That’s what the real problem is, I think.

Reality TV star cited in Las Vegas for battery after knocking man out - AL.com

Nickleback! Nickleback!

(It really bugs me that such a boring, unoriginal band gets so much attention when there are loads of other way more interesting bands out there.)

Nickleback are awesome! My new favourite band! I just got their fourth album. It totally rocks!

I've been listening to subliminals for 3 days. 5 videos before sleeping and after waking up. My left ear started hurting relatively bad. Is there an explanation or should I go to a doctor?

(Wow! What’s with this band? So many people are going nuts for them? What’s so special about them? They had a decent song or two. But there’s no originality now. They’re just wearing themselves out chasing their own tail.)

(It sounds a bit too much like they took what made them popular from the previous album and just did more of that.)

I think it went something like this.

Why are most people broke?

Dude, you heard that new single by that band, Nickleback? It’s awesome! Holy crap! That song is everywhere! It’s so cool!