98 Degrees

A wholesome R&B-inspired pop group who scored six Top 20 hits during their 1997-2000 commercial peak, 98° were formed by brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre. All four singers are originally from Ohio. Timmons was trying to make it on the West Coast in the music industry, so he called Jeffre and Nick Lachey, both former classmates at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Artists, and formed 98°. Drew Lachey soon joined as well. The quartet worked odd jobs to finance talent show appearances. After they attracted attention by trying to crash the backstage area of a show headlined by Boyz II Men -- one of the group's primary inspirations -- they were offered a chance to sing on a local radio station. From that appearance, the group met Montell Jordan co-manager Paris d'Jon, who arranged demos and helped them sign to Motown. The quartet's debut single, the ballad "Invisible Man," was released in June 1997, eventually hit number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified gold.