STILL RISING

It's been 25 years since 98 Degrees burned up the charts with soulful hits like Because of You" and they're showing no signs of cooling down as they embark on an anniversary tour and head back into the studio for a new album

-  JAIME HARKIN

In their heyday, 98 Degrees sold nearly 15 million records, had four top 10 singles and regularly graced the covers of teen magazines alongside the likes of ’NSync and the Backstreet Boys. Despite their outsize fame, Ohio natives Drew and Nick Lachey, Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre say they never took success for granted — or stopped hustling. “We call ourselves the blue-collar boy band,” shares Drew. Adds Nick, “Our mindset was always, ‘You might outdance us, you might outsing us, but you sure as hell won’t outwork us.’ We got discovered the old-school way, singing for money and food. I’m very proud of how we came up.”

More than two decades later, Drew, 47, Nick, 49, Jeff, 50, and Justin, also 50, are still grinding. Now managed by Johnny Wright of Wright Entertainment Group, they’re working on new music, embarking on a 25th Anniversary Tour and, they tell Us exclusively, rerecording their masters. But today, they’re better able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. “We’re more relaxed,” says Jeff, the band’s founding member. “Everything is more fun.” The guys sat down with Us at the Hotel Covington in Covington, Ky., to talk about their early days, returning to the studio and their unbreakable bond.

It’s been 25 years since you guys broke out onto the scene. How exciting is that?

DREW It’s one of these moments where you have to look back. It’s like, “Has it really been that long?” In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we got together.

How did you initially form the band?