98 Degrees’ gift to fans is new Christmas album, and a tour full of hits

When it came to deciding how 98 Degrees would celebrate their 20th anniversary as a group, the members looked to an old favorite for inspiration.

While the former boy band is known for late ’90s and early 2000s hits “Because of You,” “The Hardest Thing” and “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche),” the members pointed to their 1999 release “This Christmas” as their personal favorite in the band’s catalog. The album sold more than 1 million copies, launching “This Gift” to the top of the Billboard charts.

It only made sense for the group to enter the studio to record a followup, this year’s “Let It Snow.”

On tour last year, they felt “Snow” could serve the perfect dual purpose of being a reason to finally hit the road for their first Christmas tour, as well as have that anniversary celebration.

Nick Lachey, who recently capped off a run on the 25th season of “Dancing With the Stars” with his wife, actress Vanessa Lachey, said the group took on the challenge of creating a new collection without fear of duplicating the feel of the first.

“I think the most (obvious) way to do that is to not do the same songs,” Lachey joked.

Lachey, who is part of the group with brother Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons, will bring their “98º at Christmas” tour to the Durham Performing Arts Center Dec. 5.

“We tried to avoid doing any repeats,” Lachey said. “We had always felt that our first Christmas album had sort of a timeless feeling to it. It didn’t feel rooted in the late ’90s pop movement and felt that it could have been recorded and listened to at any time.

In creating the new album, they wanted to repeat the same timeless feeling, Lachey said.

“We wanted something that fans could play 20 years from now and it would still be relevant,” he said. “We tried to keep the production and arrangements in that mode, where they wouldn’t feel dated in three or four years. We approached it in basically the same way we did the last one: find some great songs that you love, leave room to have a couple of original moments in there to season it up, and put together a great album. I really feel that we did that.”

The tour promises a mix of Christmas tunes alongside the group’s biggest hits, performed with the same high-energy routines that fans have come to associate with 98 Degrees’ live performances. While some groups divide their set lists to account for two distinct parts of an artist’s catalog, Lachey doesn’t hesitate in saying he won’t divvy up the 98 Degrees songs.

“(The show’s setlist is) a mix,” Lachey said. “We didn’t want it to feel as obvious as, ‘Okay, here’s our Christmas stuff, and later we’ll be playing our popular hits.’ We tried to strategically kind of mix the hits from the past with the holiday stuff, and I think it’s great because the fans get to experience both the Christmas songs, and then hear the hit songs that take them back to another time and era of their life. It gives a great flow to the show, honestly, where you’re doing some Christmas stuff but then sprinkle on a hit.”

In recent years, the reality show veteran has been seen just as much on the small screen as the recording studio, a notion that Lachey doesn’t necessarily dismiss. He understands that he can reach just as many kids interested in a music career through his work as a host on such musical competition shows as MTV’s “Taking the Stage” or NBC’s “The Sing-Off” as he can as a pop artist.

“If you are even in the ballpark of discovering a great young talent, that is a very great place to be,” the singer said. “Talented people are always looking for an opportunity to show everyone what they can do.

“Just look at Pentatonix, who came out of ‘The Sing-Off,’” he said, referring to the popular a cappella act that won the third season of “The Sing-Off” in 2011.

“The fact that we gave them a launching pad to becoming one of the biggest acts in the world at this point is the only thing I needed to justify my part in that show,” he said. “When we were coming up, we were always looking for someone to give us a shot and give us a chance, so it’s nice to be a part of that on the other side. It’s just gratifying.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "98 Degrees’ gift to fans is new Christmas album, and a tour full of hits."