Everyone hates Nickelback, but do we know why?

A few days ago I was driving with the kids, listening to our local radio station, when a song intro began and Cobi excitedly announced, "Oh! I like this song!" A few seconds later, the intro faded into the first lyrics of the song and upon hearing a familiar voice, he recanted, "Oh...never mind, it's Nickelback. I thought it was something else." And asked me to turn it off. I, of course, happily turned it off because Nickelback's music tends to make my brain hurt a little. Granted, they do have a couple of ok songs that I can tolerate, I would never play their music by choice.

It's really perplexing to me how Nickelback has sold billions of albums. It seems NOBODY admits to being a fan, yet, they are one of the top selling bands in our lifetime. How can this be!? Are they merely buying up all their own albums and filling live venues with tickets they bought themselves and paying people to pretend to be fans? Doubtful. That would be very unrealistic and expensive. I think people actually do pay to be entertained by this band. By the amount of trash talk Nickelback receives, though, you would have to assume these paying fans are a minority.

What is it that everyone else hates about Nickelback so much anyway? Is it that all their songs sound similar? Probably not. There are many bands out there that have a specific style and most of their songs sound similar, but they are successful, as well as liked. (Think Coldplay, Greenday, Aerosmith, Maroon5, etc)

Is it because they are Canadian? I don't think so. If this was the reason, I am sure Neil Young, Celine Dion, Leonard Cohen and Rush would be in hiding by now. Yes, these artists all face criticism, but their talent is never denied.

Is it that Nickelback has mediocre, at best musical talent? Is it that most of their songs possess no more than three chords and follow a specific progression formula? Is it the watered down lyrics or the lack of emotion and depth? Is it that everyone is just jealous of Nickelback's success? Perhaps all of these things. People are outraged that a band that is not innovative, creative or reasonably talented can achieve such fame.

For me it is the fact that while playing three simple chords repetitively on his guitar, Chad Kroeger flails about on stage, as if some sort of rock god reincarnate from the 70's. I can't stand his voice either. He grunts and shouts. That's not singing. He has no vocal range. He sounds contrived, forced and constipated. I also find his ego repulsive, which in turn, promotes my gag reflex when I hear Nickelback's interpretation of music. That's my reasoning. What's yours?