Keep On Rising

03/13/2000 2:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Jason Gelman

In just a little under four years, the harmony-driven Ohio quartet 98 Degrees has successfully developed into a multi-platinum pop music supergroup. Justin Jeffre, Jeff Timmons, and brothers Nick and Drew Lachey have spent the better part of those years on the road performing in cities across the U.S. and around the world. And the fans they've met along the way have been devoted indeed; some have even gone so far as to tattoo the band's logo on their bodies.

"There are a few fans across the country who have gotten 98 Degrees tattoos--it's a little scary," Nick reports. "It's a great sign of dedication from a fan, but at the same time it was tough for Jeff and I to make the decision to get a tattoo on our bodies, so for a fan to do it really surprised us." That said, "We have some of the greatest fans in the world and any sign of devotion is great, as long as their parents don't mind."

Drew agrees with Nick's assessment of their fans. "It's just nice that we can be who we are and people appreciate the music we're making, and we don't have to change who we are or what we do to get fans. It's really nice."

The 98 Degrees story so far: Founding member Jeff hooked up with Nick and Justin in August 1995. Drew joined the group in November of that year, and they signed their first record deal with Motown Records on April 8, 1996. When Universal and PolyGram (which owned Motown) merged in December 1998, the group decided to move to Universal Records, which, interestingly enough, they felt had a better understanding of pop music.

Although the group did handle some writing and production duties on their self-titled debut, which spawned the gold hit single "Invisible Man," they stepped up their efforts on their second album, 98 Degrees And Rising. As a result, the group established itself as a mainstream pop music powerhouse with the platinum single "Because Of You," the gold single "The Hardest Thing," and the Notting Hill theme "I Do (Cherish You)," which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

For 98 Degrees And Rising, the group once again tapped Sean Hosein and Dane DeViller, the duo that wrote and produced "Invisible Man." "They are just perfectionists in the studio," says Drew, "and that worked well with our perfectionist side, too. We always want our harmonies to be just right and vocals to be just perfect, so that's always a good fit. We also worked with Keith Thomas, who's done Brian McKnight, Vanessa Williams, Amy Grant, BeBe & CeCe Winans, so we definitely expanded our horizons as far as people we're working with this time."

The first song recorded for 98 Degrees And Rising was "True To Your Heart," an upbeat duet with Stevie Wonder, which first appeared on Disney's Mulan soundtrack. "Doing the Mulan soundtrack was really a great experience," Justin says, "because not only did we get to expand our audience to younger kids, but also to their parents. We had a lot of parents coming up and saying, 'Wow, I was really surprised, you guys have really great music,' and they're glad that they can listen to the same music that their kids are listening to," says Justin Jeffre.

98 Degrees is hoping that their music touches people of all ages, and with that in mind Jeff Timmons says that 98 Degrees would rather avoid being labeled as another "boy band": "We consider ourselves more of a musical group like Boyz II Men. We're more into writing and producing and the vocals and the arts of music, rather than just being in it for the show or the quick dollar, like some of the other groups. Not that they're not talented or that they don't deserve what they've gotten so far, I mean we just feel like we're very different."

No doubt about it, the band's come a long way since "Invisible Man." "Our progression to where we are now has just been a natural one--we've grown as musicians, we've grown as singers," Drew explains. "I think that natural progression just branches off; I mean we've started writing more and producing more. So I think all those come together and make you a better artist."

For 98 Degrees, the successes just keep coming; their holiday album, This Christmas, went platinum almost instantly, while "Thank God I Found You," their collaboration with Mariah Carey and Joe, climbed to the top of the Hot 100 in early 2000. Following the breakthrough year that's just passed, the group is preparing to work on their next album. "So many things are happening for us," Nick says. "You know, we just feel very fortunate to be a part of everything, and we just keep our options open and have a good time with it."