At the tail end of the eighties, the world was graced with a plethora of musical styles, expanding ever more in rock, punk and pop. But probably the most lucrative movement in music came at the hands of the New Kids On The Block, the cultural phenomenon that changed the face of pop music as it was known. They were definitely the most successful act and primarily the ones that started it all for “boy bands” that followed.

Deep in the hearts of 90s fangirls lay another boy band that will surely not be forgotten from any of the top lists: 98 Degrees. What differentiated them from most of their counterparts was that they formed independently amongst themselves as opposed to being formed by producers or by a major label. Once they had formed, they then looked to clinch a record deal as a group.

Producing music in the waning era of boy bands, 98 Degrees sold over 10 million records around the globe and even had quite a few of their songs reach number one, on many significant charts.

Their musical career was very successful among their fans, and their rise amongst the ranks is definitely storied and full of interesting facts. To better understand 98 Degrees, we've found 20 really cool facts for you here at TheGamer. So sit back, pop in that old 90s boy band mix tape and read all about it.

20 Humble Beginnings

How a band starts out definitely says a lot about where they’ll go, as time moves forward, and for this band, its origins are definitely interesting, to say the least.

They had gone on numerous auditions in Los Angeles, but to no avail. Finally, their big break would come out of nowhere, shortly after. As it turns out, the band had attended a Boyz II Men concert at some point in 1997, over 20 years ago. Their intention was to slip the Boyz II Men dudes a demo tape, so they snuck backstage at the show in question, and the rest is history!

Well, as it turns out, they were discovered by a local radio station that was covering the concert and they were asked to sing something on the air, and just like that, it all began.

19 What's In A Name?

via OoCities

A band's name is super important, especially when first starting out. For this group, the name didn’t come all at once. Some initial names were thrown around the studio: "Next Issue" and "Just Us", to name a couple.

Well, as time passed, the name came about and apparently in the most unlikely manner. Their manager’s girlfriend suggested it and the boys in the band decided to agree with her on the basis that she was rather attractive, so the heat-based moniker stuck.

Drew Lachey has gone on record to say that the name was representative of the heat they and their love songs generate. According to Jeff Timmons, they all loved the name.

Apparently, they loved the name so much, they all got variations of the name tattooed on their bodies.

18 A Chippendale Performer!

via Popsugar

To say that Jeff was the most physically gifted member of the band is pretty obvious to most. All the members of the band seem to take their fitness seriously, but when it came to Jeff, he definitely took the trophy home for best physique. Any one of the multitude of photos prove this, and the Internet is not shy.

So was it any wonder that, after the initial success of the band and while they were on “hiatus”, he found the most interesting form of employment?

It was in 2011 that Jeff found work with the famous Chippendale dancers of the Las Vegas strip. He had a short but decent run as a singer, dancer and master of ceremonies.

Well, looks like those biceps came in handy after all.

17 A Serious Band

via pinterest

Considering their demographic and their peers in the industry, the band has often been very vocal about the sincerity of their music and, of course, about its authenticity.

They have claimed many, many times in interviews that they felt their music was a little more serious and better than the music of the other bands of their era. They believed that the authenticity of their record label proved this, as the label was known for pushing great musicians at the time, thus stating that they weren’t put through a mill of popular music.

This authenticity may have given them their edge, and their interesting fan base, but at the same time it alienated them from the super success that other boy bands of that time found.

16 Ho Ho No

via wikipedia

Well, what can we say? Any Christmas album has always had a certain stigma attached to it. Not necessarily to say that it’s cheesy, but the term is still pretty appropriate, especially if a band wants to give off a more serious impression.

Gone are the days of Elvis Presley, when it was okay to release a Christmas album just for fun. Now it just seems so cliché, and don’t get us wrong! We love Christmas, but maybe not for bands seeking recognition for creating art that inspires. I mean, does Metallica have a Christmas album?

All together now … “No!”

What’s interesting, however, is that the album didn’t do too badly and even gave them a top 40 single: “This Gift.” Go figure.

15 The Brains Behind The Operation

via Famous People

Despite the fact that everyone knows that Jeff Timmons was responsible for the formation of the band and for getting everybody together, Nick Lachey has claimed that he was the force behind the band both creatively and business-wise … or if you prefer, strategically.

We can’t argue that he was the most sought-after when it came to the paparazzi, and primarily because of the company he kept after the band’s initial success. We're sure you know who we’re talking about: a beautiful blonde singer, seemingly not so bright (which was probably just an act)? Yes that’s right, his relationship and TV show, Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica with Jessica Simpson was what brought him most of his fame.

And although he is talented, can we really say Nick Lachey was the brains behind the whole thing?

14 One And Done

via AOL.com

After years of inactivity as a functioning band, the group came together to play at The Mixtape Festival in Hersey, PA in 2012. The show was supposed to have been a one-time thing, but because of the success and reception of the performance, the band got other ideas, as you’ll soon read on.

The group quickly followed that performance with an appearance on The Today Show, and all in the same month, extending the presence of the band.

After such a long break, doing a show out of nowhere led many to wonder if the band would be getting back together permanently and start releasing albums, but only time would tell. Regardless, they proved that they still had what it took to get the crowd on their feet.

13 Homage to An Icon

Most bands love to pay homage to their influences, covering their music live, or even recording their hits and putting their own spin on a plethora of classic songs. But for 98 Degrees, the chance to pay homage to one of their idols and influences came in 2001, and the moment was indeed epic.

To celebrate Michael Jackson’s 30 years in the tumultuous music business as a solo act, 98 Degrees performed with the iconic Luther Vandross and Usher in an interpretation of Michael’s mega hit “Man In The Mirror.”

To say that Jackson’s contributions to the world of popular music aren’t as culturally impactful and significant as we know them to be would be a terrible and glaring statement. It’s great that bands and singers have shown respect to the great music Michael wrote and performed, and 98 Degrees showed much respect.

12 Mega Tour

In 2010, arguably, the most successful boy bands of all time came together for a tour! The bands included were none other than The New Kids On The Block and The Backstreet Boys. The tour was hugely successful and brought both bands back to prominence in the mainstream.

Based on the success of the tour, three years later, NKOTB decided to follow up the mega tour with yet another one, this time touring with the iconic Boyz II Men and none other than 98 Degrees.

It was in 2013 that they announced the tour on ABC’s The View, and subsequently hit the road.

They were 12 strong and they took to the stage night after night, singing their individual hits, sometimes apart and sometimes together. It was a period of time when fans of the boy band era could thoroughly enjoy the music they had grown up on.

11 Back To The Studio

via Discogs

So following the success of the joint tour, the band decided to enter the studio to record new music. Their 5th studio album 2.0 was released in 2013, and would mark the first album release for the band in a whopping 13 years.

It was released on an independent label, eOne Music and debuted at number 65 on the Billboard 200.

Lower than average, but that wasn’t rare for the band, as their first album debuted at number 145 back in 1997 and still succeeded. The success of this band didn’t come because of record sales, but from a dedicated fanbase.

Regardless, they were back on the charts and, a little while after the album’s release, they were able to do what they do best. They've always been great at performing live, which is what seems to have garnered them a little more success.

10 Oops ... They Did It Again

via WVXU

You guessed it: another Christmas album! This one came in 2017 and believe it or not, it didn’t do too badly, mirroring the success of their first foray into Holiday music. It would be overly optimistic to say that 98 Degrees was on the same level as NKOTB or the Backstreet Boys, but they worked hard and truly loved giving their fans what they wanted. Christmas music is a fan favorite!

This particular album was recorded in association with Universal and it marked a celebration of sorts, seeing that the group was also celebrating a 20 year anniversary.

The album was appropriately called Let It Snow.

Despite critical reception and the weirdness attached to bands pushing modern-day Christmas album, their two attempts at a Holiday record did respectably! So can we expect a third, or even a fourth album of this kind?

Let it snow, indeed.

9 Macy's Day Parade

via E! Online

Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade is an iconic institution in New York, New York. It’s been showcased in film and television extensively, and has become an historic part of the city’s appeal and festive nature.

Interestingly enough, the parade originated way back in 1924 and has since become the iconic parade New Yorkers enjoy to this day, with many public figures making appearances over the years. The event has been shown on NBC since 1952 and goes for 3 hours on Thanksgiving morning starting at 9AM, Eastern. In 2017, 98 Degrees performed at the event.

The choice to attend and perform was nothing but a step in the right direction for a band such as them who have been trying to re-gain the prominence in the mainstream they once enjoyed. We think the appearance can only do 98 Degrees much good!

8 How It All Came To Be

via Sound Dessert

Everybody’s got their own story, and that also goes for bands in the music business. People love hearing about how bands got together and, although it is interesting, when it comes to boy bands, fans need to be critical of which sources they listen to! Stories can be confusing, and we need to be vigilant!

There's suggestion that bands had been friends forever, but the audience then finds out that groups were put together by record label execs.

But when it comes to 98 Degrees, the story pretty much always checked out. The first two to strike up a relationship were Jeff Timmons and Nick Lachey. Timmons had dropped out of College to pursue a musical career, and Lachey followed suit. They then recruited Justin Jeffre and finally Drew, Lachey’s youngest brother.

7 Success With The Ladies

via Campus Riot

Since the dawn of the stage idol, rumors about the romantic goings-on of stars and musicians have always run rampant at any star's expense. You'll know it's true if you think back to Elvis and The Beatles and the millions of fans that adored and chased after them.

It seemed impossible even back then that the mega stars didn’t succumb to falling for one night of romance with a girl or two every now and again.

As it turns out, the 98 Degrees dudes weren’t excluded from just that. Apparently on an appearance on Never Have I Ever on E! News, the boys revealed that they did in fact have romantic relations with fans in the past. Well, 3 out of the 4 actually admitted to it, excluding only Drew, but hey that’s better than nothing.

6 Relationships With Their Peers

via Celebuzz!

A lot of people who lived through the whole boy band revolution of the late 90s wondered if there wasn’t any heat between the members of the bands who were at the top of the game at that time. The big 3 of the era, following the initial success of NKOTB in the late eighties and early nineties, were 98 Degrees, NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys.

Nobody was bigger at the time and since the godfathers of the genre had disbanded, the three bands saturated the market and seemingly all at the same time.

However, when asked about possible rivalries, Jeff Timmons claimed that there were none, as they all had a mutual respect for one another as they were kind of going through much of the same things. Well … it looks like they did play nice with others after all.

5 Legions Of Fans

via See The Muzic

Generations of music fans have been privy to the fact that the experience of being a musical star isn’t always as easy as it seems. When looking back at Beatlemania and A Hard Day’s Night, audiences could have only imagined how hard it must have been.

Modern stars have even more to face as social media presents yet another possibility in stalking and an outcry of many fans just wanting to get closer and closer.

The boys in the band had their fair share of experiences, but one in particular had them chilled to the bone.

Apparently, they were backstage at the NBA's "Stay In School" and a woman who claimed to be a reporter asked for an interview. The band graciously accepted, yet as the interview went on, they realized that the camera pointed at them wasn’t even recording and, what more, the woman wasn’t a reporter at all, but only a weird fan.

Yikes!

4 How To Be A Singer

via YouTube

Unlike rock, metal and singer/songwriter acts in the music business today and before, the popular music scene is filled with singers that never wrote any of their own music. In some cases, that’s not a problem. An excellent example of this is the late, great Elvis Presley, whom we’ve mentioned once or twice in this article.

98 Degrees isn’t an exception at all to this rule. There were other songwriters who wrote a massive chunk of the music they recorded and performed, and all they had to do was select it and perform it in the studio.

Such was their approach time and time again, and such was the case for their equally famous and well-loved peer bands.

This and this alone is what has caused music fans to debate over the validity of such stars in the music business. The scales always tip back and forth, a popular train of thought and defence for the pop scene is that, yeah, they didn’t write it, but they sing it well.

3 Play Nice!

via Houston Chronicle

Unlike a lot of bands of their time and considering their independent origins, 98 Degrees didn’t have a huge team of people behind them. This would have definitely helped when looking at all they had to do at the time, therefore a lot of the responsibilities that came with their fame fell on them.

This created a severely stressful environment and caused a lot of problems for all members.

Furthermore, considering their individual personal problems and issues thrown into the mix, it must not have been easy and the environment surely wasn’t ideal. Their age was also a factor, as they were all quite young. According to Jeff, however, they have all since matured and are now better at handling everything that comes their way.

2 Jeff's Personal Issues

In 2006, Jeff Timmons had a brief but significant run in with the law. It can even be said that he fought the law, but the law won as it always does.

All kidding aside, he was found to be driving slightly erratically by officers of the Brevard County PD. He didn't convince the police and he also wasn't in possession of a valid driver’s license. It has been reported that he argued with police at the scene, debating his being under the influence while operating a vehicle.

Jeff then proclaimed “ … don’t violate my civil rights …” for some reason. What's more, the whole thing was caught on camera and can be found online. The incident was over ten years ago and he has since been squeaky clean.

1 Hiatus Or Break-Up?

via twitter

Well, after all has been said and done, the question still remains, seeing that they the band spend a whopping 13 years apart, was it a break-up or really a hiatus? The band sticks to their story about their time apart being only a break from all the stress and wanting to branch out, but many still wonder.

The band was under many stresses, and their combined relationships might have been too affected to consider a reunion.

In their time off, they individually worked on a multitude of projects, as you’ve read, and even found some success in their own right. But they did find their way back to each other no matter what the reasons for their being apart were. They came back together and got back to work and no matter how you look at it, that’s very commendable indeed. What’s next?

Only time will tell, but they seem to be intent on continuing together.