‘Hypocritical bullshit performed through gritted teeth’: Authenticity discourses in Nickelback’s album reviews in Finnish media

The Canadian band Nickelback has faced substantial negative feedback in the media. This article examines discourses constructed in the critiques of the band, focusing on the theme of authenticity, by analysing reviews of the band from Finnish media in the time frame of 2000–2014. Traditional discourses of authenticity are widely present in the critical reception, valuing uncommercialism, subversiveness, correspondence of art and persona, originality and truth in particular.