Last names are commonly mispronounced — it happens to the best of us. One last name that pretty much everyone has been saying wrong all along is that of Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, and he’s finally confirmed the proper way to say it.
Though Kroeger is obviously spelled with an “o,” it’s not pronounced with an “o” sound at all. It’s actually pronounced as if there was a “u” in place of the “o,” so unfortunately, the best way we can explain it is that he essentially shares the same last name as the murderous horror character Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
This was confirmed by the vocalist himself during an interview with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez.
“It’s [Kroo-ger], don’t trust the internet,” he said.
Kroeger remarked that he’s never bothered to correct interviewers or hosts about the pronunciation because he never has the chance to. He’s typically introduced with the improper name pronunciation, and then immediately asked a question, so he just lets it go and gets into the discussion.
“It’s so far in by the time I get to say something, I don’t actually… Because if I just stop and go, ‘Actually, it’s Kroeger,’ I’m gonna look like such a [expletive]. So I’m just like whatever, I don’t care,” he elaborated.
The rocker recalled one time when he was doing an interview alongside Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell in the early 2000s, and the guitarist actually jumped in and corrected the interviewer on behalf of him.
“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 remembered. “And I was like, ‘Wow you really care about this shit!'”
Check out the clip below, and tune into Loudwire Nights this Thursday (Sept. 22) at 7PM ET to hear it in full on the air.
Nickelback’s upcoming studio album Get Rollin’ will be available everywhere Nov. 18. Pre-order it here now, and check out the video for their brand new single “San Quentin.”
Loudwire Nights with Toni Gonzalez airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.