They are headlining their “My2K” summer tour with such musical acts as singer-songwriter Ryan Cabrera, all-girl group Dream and O-Town.
Nick’s younger brother, Drew, just celebrated his 40th birthday, and he was serenaded on stage by his fellow band members. “I get that every night, so it’s no different. It was a great experience, and they surprised me,” Drew said. “Literally, we do serenade him every night,” Jeff said. “That’s the only way he goes to sleep,” Nick added.
Most recently, Nick co-hosted Live with Kelly, where his group also performed “Because of You.” “It is always a fun time. She’s great and I’ve been lucky enough to do it a handful of times. It’s always a blast to be there,” Nick said.
Jeff Timmons shared that, over the years, they have had many great shows on Long Island. “We’ve done some Jones Beach shows, we’ve played Westbury before and Roosevelt Field mall, and we’ve really liked it,” Timmons said.
Being on the reality competition, Dancing with the Stars, has certainly helped Drew Lachey with his choreography on stage for this “My2K” tour. “Any time you put yourself in a position where you force yourself to try new things and grow, that is definitely going to carry over and help you in other aspects of your life,” Drew said.
In 2005, Justin Jeffre was a mayoral candidate for the city of Cincinnati. “It was fun and a good experience. I learned a lot, and I met a lot of people. I recommend it for people that are concerned about their communities,” he said.
E! News did a feature on 98 Degrees, where they tried to find out which band member was actually closest to 98 degrees Fahrenheit, by taking each of their temperatures. Justin Jeffre won with a temperature of 98.3 degrees, with Jeff a close second with 97.7 degrees. “I always thought I was cooler than all of them, but I was just shocked as anyone,” Justin said, jokingly.
Each day, Nick is motivated by setting a high standard for himself each night. “Obviously, we are on tour now, and we have a standard that we expect of ourselves each night. We warm up the right way and we focus the right way and self-challenge,” Nick said, and Timmons echoed his remarks.
Timmons has become better at balancing fatherhood and a music career. “I certainly try my best, especially in this industry, I try to balance it. I’ve had a lot of practice at it, for 17 years, and hopefully, I’ve figured it out by now,” he said.
For Drew, a father of two children, the “ultimate juggling act” in the industry is balancing family and music. “When you are present, be present and be actually involved in their lives, and do what you need to do to make sure they are loved and taken care of,” Drew said.
Nick listed Sade as his dream female collaborate choice, while Jeff picked Rihanna, Drew chose Adele and Justin furnished Pink as his choice. “Obviously, it is a shot in the dark, but a boy can dream,” Nick said, referring to a dream duet with Sade.
Over the last two decades, Drew shared that he sees “lots of great memories, great times and a lot of growth individually, and as a group.” “We are excited about what we look forward in the future that we still have together, with the fan-base that is here and showing up and supporting us,” he said.
Their proudest professional moments include performing with Stevie Wonder and being on the Tonight Show with him, as well as touring with Boyz II Men, one of their biggest idols, and working with Mariah Carey and Joe on “Thank God I Found You,” for which they earned a Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.” “We have been fortunate to work with some of our favorite artists,” Justin said.
When asked if they were to have a fragrance named after them, after a while, the Lachey brothers thought that “Lacheygrance” would be a cool name. “We’ll go with that,” the brothers said.
For their fans, Drew concluded, “We tell our fans this every time we see them. Honestly, they go above and beyond for us ever since the very beginning. They’ve made all of our dreams come true, and they continue to do so. We love them, and thank you. They truly are our ‘everything’.”
Nick defined the word success as “a personal goal.” “Success is in your own eyes and in your own mind, so it cannot be measured by anybody else,” Nick said. “Being able to do what you love to do,” added Justin.
Drew further added, “Being able to find contentment, but at the same time still looking forward.” “Success is the journey that you take trying to achieve the ultimate success,” Jeff said.
98 Degrees earned a glowing review from Digital Journal for their “My2K” tour stop at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury.
To learn more about 98 Degrees, check out their official homepage.
