98 Degrees
Categories: American musical groups | Boy bands | Motown performers | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | United States musical group stubs
98 Degrees is an American boy band formed in Los Angeles, but whose members are originally from Ohio. It consists of four vocalists: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, as well as Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons.
They were often billed as a Caucasian version of Boyz II Men.
The group was originally signed to the Motown label in the mid-1990s. After building popularity with their appearance in the movie Mulan, singing "True to Your Heart", a duet with labelmate Stevie Wonder, their success broke out in late 1998 with their album 98° and Rising, which included the hit singles "The Hardest Thing" and "I Do (Cherish You)". After the first album, 98 Degrees left Motown for its parent company, Universal Records. All four albums released by the group went platinum.
The group scored a Billboard #1 hit with the single "Thank God I Found You," a collaboration with Mariah Carey and Joe. The group also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the same song.
Nick Lachey now stars in the MTV reality series Newlyweds with his wife Jessica Simpson. His group performed on a Christmas special that he and Simpson hosted and was broadcast on ABC.
He also had a guest spot on popular WB series Charmed, appearing in about 6 of their Season 7 episodes.
In 2005, Justin Jeffre ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.