THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

415-Nickleback-Rockstar.

2007-Number 2 single. It also re-entered the chart in 2008, reaching Number 27.

Best Bit-At 1.01. The song maybe about spending billions of Dollars, but Nickleback took their name from the Nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his job at Starbucks, he would frequently say, ‘Here’s your Nickel back.’

Nickleback were formed in Hanna, Alberta, Canada, in 1995 by Chad Kroeger, (vocals) his brother Mike Kroeger, (bass) their cousin Brandon Kroeger, (drums) and Ryan Peake (guitar, and keyboards.) Brandon left the band in 1997, with Mitch Guindon (drums) being his replacement between 1997-1998, followed by Ryan Vikedal, (drums) from 1998-2005, and since 2005 Daniel Adair has been the bands official drummer. Prior to becoming Nickleback the four founding members had played together as a covers band called ‘Village Idiot’ in the early 1990’s, and at the time of writing they remain active.

Nickleback are one of Canada’s most successful acts, with record sales in excess of 50 million Albums worldwide. Their discography includes 10 studio Albums released between 1996-2020, and 44 singles released between 1996-2023, there are also two extended plays, (EP’s) and two official compilation Albums available. In Canada on the ‘Billboard Canadian Albums,’ six of their studio Albums have reached Number 1, and 19 of their singles have made the ‘Billboard Canadian Hot 100’ top 40, with ‘How You Remind Me,’ (2001) and ‘Someday,’ (2003) both reaching the Number 1 position, with ‘Rockstar’ only making Number 39. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, 10 of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘How You Remind Me peaking the highest at Number 1, while ‘Rockstar’ made Number 6. In the UK, Nickleback have had nine top 40 entries on the singles chart, with ‘Rockstar’ peaking the highest at Number 2.

‘Rockstar’ was the fifth of seven singles released from ‘All the Right Reasons,’ the fifth studio Album by Nickleback, from October 2005, the song was co-written by all four band members, with the production being by Nickleback, and Joey Moi, who has worked on four Nickleback studio Albums between 2003-2011. Although ‘Rockstar’ was recorded in 2005, it didn’t become a hit in the UK until 2007, it had proved very popular, reaching the top 50 on downloads alone, prompting the record company to give it a physical release. ‘Rockstar’ went on to sell just short of 600,000 copies in the UK, and is their most successful track in that country. In America, ‘Rockstar’ had initially stalled at Number 54 on Billboard, but was re-issued in June 2007 with an accompanying video. ‘Rockstar’ was aided to it’s great success by it’s memorable video which features many rock star’s miming the songs lyrics, including Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, (see also best songs 653) who actually performs the spoken words on the track. Other famous faces making an appearance in the video include Gene Simmons, Kid Rock, (see also best songs 433) and Nelly Furtado. At the end of the video Nickelback are shown playing live on stage, this shot was filmed on July 13th, 2007, at the ‘Comcast Center for the Performing Arts,’ in Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States.

Chad Kroeger was born Chad Robert Turton, on November 15th, 1974, in Hanna, Alberta, Canada, he is the lead singer, and guitarist with Nickleback. His maternal grandfather, was the Canadian politician Henry Kroeger, (1917-1987) who was born in Moscow to a Mennonite family of Prussian descent. After Chad’s father left the family when he was two, he started going by his mother’s maiden name of Kroeger. Chad Kroeger who was married to the Canadian singer Avril Lavigne (see also best songs 953) from 2013 until their divorce in 2015, has worked on several other projects while being a member of Nickleback, including writing and producing the 2002 track ‘Hero,’ (Billboard Number 3 & UK Number 4) for the superhero film ‘Spider-Man.’ In 2001 he founded the band ‘The Suits XL,’ and then in 2005 he co-founded the Vancouver-based ‘604 Records,’ on which in 2006, ‘The Suits XL’ released an Album. He has also collaborated with other artists, including Santana, and Timbaland.

‘Rockstar’ does not condone what some perceive to be, and in some cases correctly, the decadence of a few. Instead ‘Rockstar’ pokes fun at the stereotypical lifestyle of a famous musician, complete with references to extravagant homes, groupies, drugs, and famous friends. Chad Kroeger has said, ‘We had a lot of fun with that one. Just crazy nonsensical things that help paint this picture of someone dreaming about being a Rock Star. It’s what you would also do if you won the lottery. I hope it comes across as us having a lot of fun, and even to some degree, making fun of ourselves.’

‘I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs, and a bathroom I can play baseball in, and a king size tub, big enough for ten plus me.’