I have my theories why? Peer Pressure to like certain music and music singers / groups. Nickelback is an easy target but somehow we are suppose to like Taylor Swift??. I saw this also with the EMO Groups getting bashed but some rapper who mumbles was to be praised.
So why is Nickelback hated,yet groups like Dave Matthews is to be adored.
Coming out of the 90s grunge era, rock just took a different turn in the 2000s. Some went with the rock/rap vibe Limp Biscuit, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, then others kind of took on a mostly heavy mainstream sound like Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, Three Days Grace, and Seether with a few melodic songs. Then you had bands like Nickleback, Incubus, Three Doors Down that had a lot of crossover success. Frankly a lot of the bands had similar sounds that could have easily belonged to the other band, but every decade has copy cats.
In Nicklebacks case, they looked pretty cleancut, the singer seemed to over sing to get his distinctive voice, they were played all the time on the radio, and they became known as the band your girl probably loved. Success often attracts haters, and for the reasons above probably got more criricism over the others. Personally I've always been indifferent on them. Wasn't a fan, never owned any of their music, but also didn't dislike them. Most probably won't ever admit they had a couple catchy songs because it wasn't cool, but they probably did get way more criticism than they deserved. With today's music scene and the state of rock I would gladly take Nickleback vs a lot of what is being put out today though
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