If you’ve ever lamented that nobody seems to pronounce your name correctly, you can rest easy knowing that the lead singer of Nickelback understands your frustration. Turns out, we’ve all been pronouncing Chad Kroeger’s last name wrong this entire time, he recently told Loudwire.
In fact, Kroeger is not homophonous with the mega-grocery store chain; instead, it’s pronounced with a long U sound, like the iconic horror villain Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise: “It’s Kroo-ger, don’t trust the internet,” the musician said.
Ever the gentleman, Kroeger hasn’t bothered to correct interviewers or hosts in all of Nickelback’s 25-plus-year history. Given that he’s usually asked a question right after he’s introduced, he doesn’t want to come off rude: “If I just stop and go, ‘Actually, it’s Kroo-ger,’ I’m gonna look like such a dick. So I’m just like whatever, I don’t care.”
But Kroeger has had some friends back him up in spite of his hesitance. He recalled a 2004 interview alongside Jerry Cantrell, during which the Alice in Chains guitarist abruptly corrected the interviewer’s pronunciation.
“I sort of looked over at Jerry, and he goes, ‘It’s your name, dude. That is your last name. Tell that dude across there how to say it properly so that he stops saying it wrong into that microphone and misinforming people. That is your last name, brother,’” Kroeger said. “And I was like, ‘Wow you really care about this shit!’”
Alas, Cantrell could only do so much — nearly two decades since then, we’re all still saying Kroger. Watch Kroeger explain right at the beginning of the clip below.
Earlier this month, Nickelback announced their 10th studio album Get Rollin’ — their first in five years — with the lead single “San Quentin.”