Unlike most boy bands, they formed independently and were later picked up by a record label, as opposed to being assembled by a label or a producer. They have sold over 10 million records worldwide and achieved eight Top 40 singles in the US.
The founding members of 98 Degrees met after Canton, Ohio native Jeff Timmons decided to quit university and pursue a music career. He had been studying psychology at Kent State University in his home state of Ohio, and was planning 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 School for Creative and Performing Arts who passed his name on to another graduate, Nick Lachey, who at the time was attending Miami 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, had attended SCPA with Lachey and they had performed together before in various outfits such as a barber-shop quartet 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
Taking a series of jobs including landscaping, working as club security officers, and delivering take-out food, and as a stripper, the band continued to refine its harmonies and presentation, looking to groups such as Boyz II Men, Take 6, and Jodeci for inspiration. The new group also made the rounds of auditions in Los Angeles and gradually built up its contacts in the music industry. Fortunately, the group's wait for a manager and a recording contract would not take long, as they seized an opportunity to perform during a radio broadcast of a Boys II Men concert, which they had attended in the hope of passing a demo tape to the band. Paris D'Jon, the manager of hip-hop singer Montell Jordan, heard the group during the broadcast and quickly arranged for 98 Degrees to open for Jordan on his tour. D'Jon also became the band's manager, and they were signed to Motown Records by the time they finished the tour.
The group's emergence at a time when teen-oriented acts like the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys 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 more than mainstream pop roots. "There are major differences musically between groups, not to mention the fact that we were signed to Motown, which gives us a little more credibility as far as R&B and soul music goes
After sneaking backstage to a Backstreet Boys concert, the group did not succeed right away, but a local radio station covering the concert asked them to sing live on the air. Paris DJon, Montell Jordan's manager, was present during the impromtu broadcast and liked what he heard; he took the group under his wing, changed the group's name to 98 Degrees from its original Just Us and gave them the opening act spot on Montell Jordan's National tour. The group was originally signed to the Motown label in the mid-1990s.
With their debut single, "Invisible Man" which peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, achieving gold-record status after its July 1997 release, 98 Degrees was off to a promising start. Although critical reaction to the debut of the group was mixed, a Billboard review of their first single noted that their vocal abilities were 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. In light of the success of the Backstreet Boys, Hanson, and 'N Sync, however, even a popular debut album and a string of sold-out concert dates looked somewhat disappointing for 98 Degrees, if only by comparison to its rivals, who were astounding the music industry with their sales figures
After building popularity with their appearance in the movie Mulan, and singing "True to Your Heart" (a duet with labelmate Stevie Wonder), their album 98 Degrees and Rising went 4x platinum in 1998. Production credit included Atlanta based producer and Babyface co-writing partner Daryl Simmons. Musician credits on the breakthrough album featured Atlanta based session musician and former Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Dick Smith. After the first album, 98 Degrees left Motown for its parent company, Universal Records. All three albums after their first went platinum.
The band's first major hit was "Because of You" (number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and number five on the Canadian Singles Chart) and went platinum. Then "The Hardest Thing" followed the success by reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold.
In 1999, 98 Degrees released their Christmas album This Christmas, which spawned the 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 Jessica Simpson's album on the track "Where You Are", which was released as a single and reached the top 40.
The group scored a Billboard Hot 100 #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 #1 on the Hot 100 for 1 week and was on the Top 200 Single Sales Chart for 51 weeks.The single went to the top 10 in the UK Charts and the group also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the same song.
In the summer of 2000, 98 Degrees released the first single of their new album "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", the single went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. In September 2000, the band's album Revelation was released. Revelation peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and went 2x Platinum. The band's next singles were "My Everything" and "The Way You Want Me To", both reaching the Top 40.
In September 2001 the band appeared at Madison Square Garden alongside Luther Vandross and Usher singing Michael Jackson's hit song "Man in the Mirror", the performance was part of show to celebrate Michael Jackson's 30 years as a solo artist.
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