Lifestyle

Canada's most powerful musicians: 2. Nickelback

Who are Canada's top musicians globally?

The players: No. 5 | No. 4 | No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1

Singing songs about hard livin', Hanna, Alta.'s Nickelback seem like a bunch of regular guys.

But this foursome is one of Canada's biggest rock acts ever, since October selling 5,000,000 copies worldwide of their latest album, All the Right Reasons. Factor in six Juno nominations for the disc, and a tour that's grossed over US$15 million in the first half of 2006, and it's clear this decade-old group have come a long way from their prairie roots.

Frontman Chad Kroeger's non-Nickelback pursuits, like writing with American Idol runner-up Bo Bice and releasing a record by Tommy Lee, have helped raise the band's profile.