*Nick Lachey

 Age: 23

 Fave band: "Boyz II Men. We won our record deal just after we saw 
 them in concert."

 Life before 98 Degrees: "I've always dreamed of being a singer. In 
 fact, that's all I've ever done, apart from working in an amusement
 arcade. Was it fun? Yeah for about two minutes."

 Funniest thing that's ever happened to him: "A fan once sent me an 
 e-mail with loads of rude things in it about how she fancied me. 
 Everyone at the record company saw it and I was mortified."

 Fabulous fact: 98 Degrees came within inches of calling themselves 
 Just Us until they decided it sounded like a greetings card firm.

 So why 98 Degrees?

 "Because it's body temperature," says Nick. So now you know.

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*Jeff Timmons 

 Age: 22

 Fave band: "Boyz II men are just awesome."

 Life before 98 Degrees: "I was a student in Pennsylvania. Was I good?
 Nah, not really."

 Funniest thing that's ever happened to him: "We were singing on stage
 dressed in dungarees.  Suddenly the clip on mine came off and they 
 just fell down. I went redder than you can imagine."

 Fabulous fact: Jeff formed 98 Degrees in a bid to cure a bout of 
 homesickness. He was in another boy band but they split up cos they 
 hated travelling away from home. "We just missed our parents soo bad," 
 he says.

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*Drew Lachey 

 Age: 20 

 Fave band: "Jodeci are good, I'd love to meet them. Can you introduce
 us?"

 Life before 98 Degrees: "I was an ambulance driver in New York which 
 was kinda stressful. So when my brother called me and asked me to 
 join the group I packed a case, closed my bank account and ran."

 Funniest thing that's ever happened: "It wasn't funny at the time but
 I arrived in Los Angeles to join the band and they told me that we 
 were supporting Montell Jordan the next night. I cried with panic!"

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*Justin Jeffre

 Age: 22

 Fave band: "I like old Motown bands like The Temptations and The Four
 Tops."

 Life before 98 Degrees: "Hmm, not sure I really had one. No, I was at 
 The School For Performing Arts in Cincinnati so I always wanted to be
 a singer."

 Funniest thing that's ever happened to him: "I've got a really deep
 voice and I talked to this guy on the phone when I was about 15 and 
 he thought I was about 60."

 Fabulous fact: Justin is never, ever, seen without his trademark
 specs. "I love them," he says. "Fans in America keep sending me new
 glasses which is great and very cheap, well, cheap for me anyway!" 

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*As soon as the members of 98 Degrees return to the states after
 completing a tour of Europe with Dru Hill, the R&B group will find
 themselves boiling over with projects.

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*In between the Disney special and the tour's launch, 98 Degrees also
 hopes to record a new, as-yet-untitled song for the soundtrack to the
 forthcoming Will Smith film, "Wild, Wild West."

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*The dates for 98 Degrees' "Heat It Up" tour:

 3/17 - Ottawa, ON @ Congress Center 
 3/18 - Montreal, QC @ Le Spectrum 
 3/19 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 
 3/20 - London, ON @ Centennial Hall 
 3/21 - Hamilton, ON @ Hamilton Place Theater 
 3/23 - Thunder Bay, ON @ Community Auditorium 
 3/24 - Winnipeg, MB @ Rendezvous                      
 3/25 - Saskatoon, SK @ Broadway Theater 
 3/27 - Calgary, AB @ University Of Calgary 
 3/28 - Edmonton, AB @ University Of Alberta 
 3/30 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater 
 4/02 - Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium 
 4/03 - Berkeley, CA @ Berkeley Community Theater 
 4/05 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theater                                
 4/06 - Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Hotel - The Joint 
 4/07 - San Jose, CA @ Event Center Arena 
 4/08 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theater 
 4/09 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theater 
 4/11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall 
 4/13 - Rosemont, IL @ Rosemont Theater 
 4/14 - Dayton, OH @ Memorial Hall 
 4/16 - Cleveland, OH @ Palace Theater 
 4/17 - Detroit, MI @ State Theater 
 4/18 - East Lansing, MI @ Wharton Center 
 4/19 - Grand Rapids, MI @ DeVos Hall 
 4/21 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theater 
 4/22 - Camden, NJ @ Blockbuster - Sony Center 
 4/23 - Westbury, NY @ Westbury Music Fair 
 4/24 - Wallingford, CT @ SNET Oakdale Theater 
 4/25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ A.J. Palumbo Center 
 4/27 - Wilkes-Barre, PA @ F.M. Kirby Center 
 4/28 - Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center 
 4/29 - Richmond, VA @ Landmark Theater 
 4/30 - Columbus, OH @ Palace Theater 
 5/01 - Nashville, TN @ Festival 
 5/02 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown Festival 
 5/04 - Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium 
 5/06 - Louisville, KY @ Palace Theater 
 5/07 - Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Centre 
 5/08 - Kansas City, KS @ Memorial Hall

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*Being a heartthrob isn't as easy as you might think. Just ask the 
 guys in 98 Degrees.

 After making it in Europe, Jeff, Drew, Nick and Justin are currently
 viewing their newfound Stateside success from the inside of a tour
 bus. The group's has a hit album in "98 Degrees and Rising," a hit
 single in "Because of You," and the demands placed on young men who 
 accomplish such things offer little time for rest and relaxation.

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*Of course, just because life on the boy band treadmill is hard work 
 doesn't mean it's not fun. When the 98 Degrees caravan rolled into
 New York recently, the boys talked to the MTV Radio Network's John
 Gill about overly enthusiastic groupies, their thoughts on getting
 naked in front of the camera, and the fact that their success means 
 that they can actually find dates now... not that they find much time
 for them. The group also talks about life on the tour bus, their 
 approach to making videos, and their plans for 1999.

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*"Well hopefully [we'll have] more success," said Justin of 98 Degrees
 on the year ahead, "and that we'll be able to take things to another
 level like we feel that we've done this year. We got to do a great
 album that we're very proud of, we got to work with a long wish list
 that we had, and some great producers. Working with Stevie
 Wonder was a dream come true and we're gonna just keep having
 fun, enjoying what we're doing."

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*"Yeah, the opportunities that we've been presented with just this 
 year alone have been tremendous," Nick added. "And I think we'd just
 like to see the ball continue to roll and just experience new and
 different things and really just keep building on what we've kind of
 started this year in '98. Push forward towards the new millennium, 
 you know, hopefully be around for a long time and I think next year 
 is really gonna be a big year for 98 Degrees."

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*After performing at shows across Europe for the last several
 weeks, vocal group 98 Degrees has returned to the states to
 kick-off a winter tour to support its current Top 5 single, "Because
 of You."

 The quartet scored its breakthrough hit earlier this year with he
 single "Invisible Man" -- a track actually off its 1997 self-titled
 debut, and have just issued its sophomore effort, "98 Degrees and
 Rising."

 Shortly before heading out on tour, the members of 98 Degrees
 sat down and talked with the MTV Radio Network about what it
 was expecting from its first major road outing of North America.

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*98 Degrees Say "I Do" To Guest Spot On "City Guys"

 98 Degrees, the quartet who are currently enjoying a Top 10 single
 with "Because of You," will pay a visit to the set of the NBC
 Saturday morning comedy series, "City Guys," for a special guest
 performance airing this weekend, on October 24.

 The episode features 98 Degrees performing the song "I Do (Cherish
 You)" from their upcoming album, "98 Degrees and Rising," but fans
 shouldn't expect to see the band launch an acting career anytime
 soon.

 "I don't think any of us are really ready [for acting] at this point," the
 Degrees' Drew Lachey explained to the MTV Radio Network, "I
 mean, I'm sure if we took some classes in it and got schooled in it
 [we could do it]. But I think as of now our best foot is 98 Degrees
 and singing as a group, so we're gonna stick with that one."

 98 Degrees will take to the web to help promote its TV appearance
 and its new album, which includes guest vocals from Motown icon
 Stevie Wonder on one track, during an online chat on Friday,
 October 23 at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC's TNBC web site at
 www.nbc.com/tnbc.

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<>**This will be updated sometime in the near future**<>
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Amanda's Opinion:  Personally, I'm not a fan of 98 Degrees.  I think 
                   they have a lot of talent...but I am just not into
                   the boy/pop acts.


Lindsey's Opinion: I like the music, but I'm not head-over-heals about
                   the looks.  But I like the R&B sound.