98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American vocal group consisting of brothers
Nick and
Drew Lachey,
Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre. Their first Christmas album ''
This Christmas'' has sold over two million copies and is widely recognized as one of the most successful holiday albums ever.
The
pop and
R&B group was started independently by Jeff Timmons in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, although all of its members originate from Ohio. Unlike most boy bands, they were later picked up by a
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
, rather than being assembled by a label or a producer. They have sold over 10 million records worldwide and achieved eight
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
singles in the U.S. Between late 1997 and 2000, the group reached top-twenty status on the ''Billboard'' U.S. Hot 100 chart, with their debut single "
Invisible Man" peaking at No. 12, and 1999's pop/R&B cover of the country ballad "
I Do (Cherish You)" peaking at No. 13. The group successfully charted in the U.S. top five with "
Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", "
Because of You", "
The Hardest Thing", and "
Thank God I Found You"—the latter as a guest artist backing
Mariah Carey to give 98 Degrees their only number-one song, which earned a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
Beginning with an August 2012 performance at the
Mixtape Festival in
Hershey, Pennsylvania, the group reunited and continues to record new music.
History
Formation
The founding members of 98 Degrees met after
Massillon, Ohio native
Jeff Timmons decided to quit college and pursue a music career with best friend Jeremy Volk. He studied psychology at
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
in his home state of Ohio, and planned on a career playing football in the
NFL. In 1995 he sang at a college party with three friends and received a positive reaction from the female audience about his voice. The following day he left college and headed out to Los Angeles, California.
"It was a pretty hasty decision, looking back, but I was young and dumb. Sometimes ignorance is bliss," he said in 2004. He met a former student of the Cincinnati
School for Creative and Performing Arts who passed his name on to another graduate,
Nick Lachey, who was attending
Miami (of Ohio) University to study sports medicine. Lachey flew to Los Angeles and, after hitting it off, decided to form a boyband. Lachey suggested inviting one of his friends, Justin Jeffre, to join them. Jeffre, a history student at
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
, had attended SCPA with Lachey and they had performed together before in various outfits such as a
barbershop quartet at the
Kings Island amusement park and a
cover band.
The final member to join the band was Lachey's younger brother
Drew, who was working in New York City as an
emergency medical technician, as a replacement for founding member Jonathan Lippmann.
After rejecting a series of names (including Just Us and Next Issue), upon the suggestion by their manager Paris D'Jon, they decided on "98 Degrees" describing body temperature and their music.
Signing to Motown records
Taking a series of jobs including landscaping, working as club security officers and delivering take-out food, the band refined its harmonies and presentation, looking to groups such as
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
,
Take 6
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...
, and
Jodeci for inspiration. The new group also made the rounds of auditions in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and gradually built up its contacts in the music industry. The group's wait for a manager and a recording contract did not take long, as they seized an opportunity to perform during a radio broadcast of a Boyz II Men concert, which they attended in the hope of passing a demo tape to the band. They were discovered by music manager Paris D'Jon, who was co-managing
Montell Jordan at the time.
Just before the group signed their deal, founding member Jonathan Lippman departed the group due to his religious beliefs; he later went on to form
CCM group
True Vibe.
The group's emergence at a time when teen-oriented acts like the
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
, the
Backstreet Boys and
NSYNC
NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...
were just hitting the top of the charts around the world compelled them to differentiate themselves from the mere "boy band" status that they derided. From the start, they emphasized that they wrote much of their own material, which reflected R&B influences rather than mainstream pop roots. Drew Lachey commented in an interview with the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' in April 1999, "Anybody who has listened to Backstreet
oyss album, our album and *NSYNC's album will definitely see that there are major differences musically between groups, not to mention the fact that we were signed to
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
, which gives us a little more credibility as far as
R&B and
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
goes. Not to mention that we’ve been influenced by more of those type of artists." Directly referring to NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, he added, "We are singers, songwriters, and producers all in one, not just one of those manufactured pop groups that is put together as a marketing scheme. We are actually in this for the music, which is our first love. That is the major difference."
1997: First album
With their debut single "Invisible Man", which peaked at No. 12 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, achieving gold-record status after its June 1997 release, 98 Degrees was off to a promising start. Although critical response to the group's
self-titled debut album was mixed, a Billboard review of their first single noted their vocal abilities, and the addition of a new track helped to keep the band in the public eye. The group also toured extensively, including concert dates in
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. They also opened for several dates of
Janet Jackson's
Velvet Rope Tour, exposing them to a wider audience.
1998-1999: Breakthrough
After building popularity with their appearance in the animated
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
movie ''
Mulan
Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
'', and singing "
True to Your Heart", a duet with labelmate
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
, their album ''
98 Degrees and Rising'' was released in October 1998 and became the group's breakthrough album, eventually going 4×
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
. Production credits included Atlanta-based producer and
Babyface co-writing partner
Daryl Simmons, while musician credits featured Atlanta-based session musician and former
Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist
Dick Smith. After the album's release, 98 Degrees left Motown for its parent company,
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
.
The band's first major hit "
Because of You" reached number three on the U.S.
Hot 100 and number five on the
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...
, and also went platinum. "The Hardest Thing" followed the success by reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold.
In 1999, 98 Degrees released their Christmas album ''
This Christmas'', which spawned the Canadian top 40 single "
This Gift". Within a month after its release the album was certified platinum. The group appeared as featured guests on
Amy Grant's 1999 CBS Christmas special, ''
A Christmas to Remember''. Nick Lachey was featured on singer
Jessica Simpson's debut album ''
Sweet Kisses'' on the track "
Where You Are", which was released as a single and reached the top 40 in Canada but missed the top 40 in the US. The group appeared in the album called ''
Jesus: The Epic Mini Series'' with their song "The Love That You've Been Looking For".
2000–2002: ''Revelation''
The group scored a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 No. 1 hit in the U.S. with the single "
Thank God I Found You", a collaboration with
Mariah Carey and
Joe. The single went gold, selling 700,000 copies. It stayed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for one week and the top 200 singles sales chart for 51 weeks. The single went to the top 10 in the UK charts and the group also received a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the same song.
In the summer of 2000, 98 Degrees released "
Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", the first single off their upcoming album ''
Revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
''; the single went to No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. In September 2000, ''Revelation'' was released, peaking at No. 2 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and being certified 2× Platinum. The band's next singles from that album were "
My Everything" and "The Way You Want Me To", the former reaching the Top 40.
In September 2001, the band appeared at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
alongside
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...
and
Usher singing
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's hit song "
Man in the Mirror". The performance was part of a show to celebrate
Michael Jackson's 30 years as a solo artist.
In 2002, 98 Degrees released a compilation album called ''
The Collection'', with the new single "Why (Are We Still Friends)". At that point the group had sold over 10 million records and released 12 singles.
2003–2012: Hiatus
In 2003, the group went on hiatus. At the time, Drew Lachey stated that 98 Degrees had not broken up. During the hiatus, Drew and his wife had their first daughter shortly after he won the second season of ''
Dancing with the Stars''. Nick Lachey married Jessica Simpson in October 2002 and released two solo albums, ''
SoulO'' and ''
What's Left of Me'', with the latter being released around the time of his divorce from Simpson in 2006. Timmons released the solo album ''
Whisper That Way'' and participated in the
VH1 reality TV series, ''
Mission Man Band''. Jeffre ran for mayor of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, and worked on independent media projects.
The band reunited in 2004 to perform on ''Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas'' TV special. In September 2005, 98 Degrees performed at Club Purgatory in
Over-the-Rhine to support Jeffre in his candidacy for mayor of Cincinnati.
2012–present: Reunion, ''2.0'' and ''Let It Snow''
On June 20, 2012, Nick and Drew Lachey announced on
Ryan Seacrest that the group would reunite for a one-time performance at
Mixtape Festival in Hershey, PA in August.
The group also performed at ''
The Today Show'' on August 17.
In an interview with ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' on July 26, 2012, Drew Lachey revealed that a week before, the group had their first rehearsal in over a decade. He also explained the group decided to come back together because they were all at that place in their lives where they felt comfortable committing to being in a group again, and they also felt the timing was right because the pop music genre has come back around. "Music is very cyclical. You go through rock stages, R&B stages, rap stages... It's an uphill battle if you try and do pop during a rap stage," says Lachey. Regarding the group's future, he said at this time, they currently have no plan beyond their performances at ''The Today Show'' and the Mixtape Festival. However, in September 2012, he revealed the group was going to go back into the studio to record a new album in October.
On January 22, 2013, the group appeared on ''
The View'' along with
New Kids on the Block and
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
to announce their joint tour would take place in summer 2013. This tour is named "
The Package" and the 12 members on tour (Boyz II Men with 3 members, NKOTB with 5 members and 98 Degrees with 4 members) jokingly refer to themselves as "The Dirty Dozen". The North American tour began on May 28, 2013. The band also performed a song during the season finale of
NBC's ''
The Sing-Off'', which Nick Lachey hosts, on December 23, 2013.
The band released their new album, ''
2.0'', their first studio album in 13 years, on May 7, 2013.
In summer 2016, they regrouped again to headline the
My2K Tour, their first headlining tour in 15 years. They were supported by
O-Town,
Ryan Cabrera, and
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
, putting together a bill of pop acts that were first popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s at larger venues.
In 2017, they returned to Universal Music and put out their second Christmas album, ''Let it Snow'', because of their 20th anniversary. They promoted it with a series of concerts across the United States called the "At Christmas Tour".
On November 23, 2017, the band made a 90-second musical appearance in
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performed in New York City.
On May 21, 2018, the band made a musical appearance at Miss USA, singing "The Hardest Thing" and "I Do", as the three final girls did their last walk on the stage.
From October 15 to October 16, 2018, 98 Degrees appeared at Epcot at Walt Disney World as part of the Eat To The Beat concert series during the annual Food and Wine Festival.
On July 9, 2021, the band released a new single titled "Where Do You Want To Go". They joined Canadian
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
singer
Brett Kissel on the single "
Ain't the Same" in April 2022.
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
98°'' (1997)
* ''
98° and Rising'' (1998)
* ''
This Christmas'' (1999)
* ''
Revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
'' (2000)
* ''
2.0'' (2013)
* ''Let It Snow'' (2017)
* ''Full Circle'' (2025)
Tours
;Headlining
*
Heat It Up Tour
*Revelation Tour
*
My2K Tour
*98° at Christmas Tour
*An Evening with 98 Degrees
*25th Anniversary Tour
*2024 U.S. Tour
;Co-headlining
*All That! Music and More Festival
*
The Package Tour
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
, -
,
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, "
Thank God I Found You" (with
Mariah Carey &
Joe)
,
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
,
Billboard Music Awards
, -
,
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, 98°
,
Top Pop Artist - Duo/Group
,
Billboard Music Video Awards
!Ref.
, -
, rowspan=3, 1999
, rowspan=2, "
The Hardest Thing"
, Best Jazz/AC Clip
,
, rowspan=3,
, -
, Best New Artist Clip - Jazz/AC
,
, -
, "
I Do (Cherish You)"
, Best New Artist Clip - Pop
,
Kids' Choice Awards
, -
,
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, 98°
,
Favorite Music Group
,
Teen Choice Awards
, -
, rowspan=3,
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, rowspan=2, 98°
,
Choice Music: Breakout Artist
,
, -
,
Choice Music Group
,
, -
, "
Because of You"
, rowspan=2,
Choice Music: Love Song
,
, -
, rowspan=2,
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, "
Thank God I Found You" (with
Mariah Carey &
Joe)
,
, -
, rowspan=2, 98°
, rowspan=2,
Choice Music Group
,
, -
,
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
References
External links
*
2011 Reunion
{{Authority control
Motown artists
American soul musical groups
American pop music groups
American boy bands
Sibling musical groups
Hollywood Records artists
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 2002
Musical groups reestablished in 2012
Teen pop groups
Vocal quartets
Universal Records artists
1996 establishments in California