Nickelback officially inducted into Canadian Music Hall of Fame with plaque ceremony in Calgary

Alberta rock band Nickelback sealed its spot in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on Sunday with an official plaque ceremony.

“It’s humbling and bizarre… Words fall short every single time, they truly do,” said Chad Kroeger, the band’s lead vocalist.

Nickelback was inducted into the hall of fame during the Juno Awards broadcast in Edmonton earlier this year.

On Sunday, Chad and Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair made it official, placing their plaque at the National Music Centre’s Studio Bell in Calgary.

“When you look at those legendary names, I would’ve thought that this honour might come to us some day, 10 years in the future,” Chad said.

Studio Bell is the physical home of the hall of fame collection, and only the best in the business are recognized.

“(Nickelback has) obviously gone far beyonds these borders, but the impact they’ve had on fans and the industry as a whole has just been incredible,” said Allan Reid, president and CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Juno Awards and MusiCounts.

Reid says every year, they try inducting an artist that is from the province or city where the Junos are being held.

“We just thought about a year in advance, there’s probably no better artists to induct in Alberta than Nickelback … They are so deserving of this honour. We thought, if we’re going to do it, this is the place to do it,” he said.

Nickelback’s list of accolades is long, with 23 chart-topping singles, 50 million albums sold and more than 10 billion streams online.

They’ve won 12 Junos and were nominated for nine Grammys.

“They’re one of the most popular touring bands in the world, certainly the most popular from Canada at this point. They’ve written tons of great rock anthems that the world and Canadians love,” said Andrew Mosker, president and CEO of the National Music Centre.

A temporary exhibit celebrating the rock group’s achievements recently opened at the National Music Centre.

It looks back at their start in Hanna nearly 30 years ago, to their worldwide success.

Chad says persistence helped them get to where they are.

“We weren’t what anybody was looking for back then, and so we got a lot of rejection … Don’t let the first no, the tenth no, the hundredth no stop you,” Chad said.

Peake added, “Like anybody, you know, we’ll have good times, we’ll bicker, and have moments, but as soon as we hit a bit of adversity, that doesn’t feel right, or it feels like we’re still on the right path, we kind of band together without even talking about it.”

The private plaque ceremony was followed by a fan Q & A.

It was a special experience for two long-time supporters who met years ago at a Nickelback concert in Calgary and reconnected on Sunday at this event.

“Me and my partner went to see them many times all over Europe. Super fun band, like nothing I’d ever seen before,” said Charlotte Boldison.

Jennifer Underwood agreed, saying, “I’m a small town Saskatchewan girl, so I love that they’re raw, they’re real, they’re authentic.”

Nickelback recently kicked off the North American leg of the Get Rollin’ Tour, after releasing its tenth studio album in November.

“It just feels so stereotypical to hear a band go, ‘This is the best work we’ve done in years,’ but it really is,” Chad said with a laugh.

The band performed at the Saddledome on Sunday night.

Hinting at an upcoming documentary, Nickelback says its rock and roll journey is far from over.