98 Degrees excited to come back to PH: 'It's a special place'
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98 Degrees member Nick Lachey: “The Philippines is where we felt like true stardom and success.”
American vocal group 98 Degrees is excited to make new memories in Manila as they hold a two-night concert at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on May 30 and 31.
In an online interview with the local entertainment media, including GMANetwork.com, the four-member male group recalled how much love they received from their fans when they first visited the Philippines.
According to Jeff Timmons, he would never forget how enthusiastic the Pinoy fans were for them.
“You know, we've been talking about this a lot lately in some interviews, with the upcoming release of our new album Full Circle here in the States, about our affinity for the Philippines and Southeast Asia in general.
“What a lot of people don't know, we didn't necessarily have a ton of success in the United States first. We ended up going to Canada and had success there. But really, the first time we really got a resounding fan base was when we first step foot in Manila for the first time. So, we absolutely love the fan base.”
He added that it was just right to come back here to perform for their fans.
“I feel like we owe it to the fans for 20 some odd years since we've been there. And we're really, really excited to go back there. We really tried to make it happen a couple of times but COVID got in the way. There are so many fond memories really. How the culture embraced us, it really just led to our success, not just in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, but to the world.”
98 Degrees was supposed to have a tour in Manila and Cebu in February 2020. However, it was postponed due to COVID pandemic.
Nick Lachey, on the other hand, remembered how passionate their fans were during their last visit.
“I remember leaving the concert venue in a van, and fans were like, literally rocking the van back and forth. I mean, the passion of the Filipino people for music and for our group is just overwhelming.
“It's been overwhelming, so we're just excited to return to the Philippines for a long time now. As what Jeff said, bummed out it couldn't happen in 2020 for obvious reason. But we're excited to make it work here in 2025,” he said.
He also noted about Pinoy fans, “It's just a sense when you're in the Philippines, the love of music, the love of artistry, the love and the passion that they have there for singing. It's contagious to us as performers. It makes you wanna perform better because your fans there, the audience or the crowd you're singing for, are truly appreciating what you're doing. So, it's a special place and we're excited to get back.”
In their upcoming concert, fans can expect 98 Degrees performing their iconic songs such as “I Do (Cherish You),” “The Hardest Thing,” “Invisible Man,” and “Because of You.”
Adding Pinoy touch to their concert are Filipino vocal powerhouse Katrina Velarde and soulful singer-songwriter Janine Teñoso. The former recently made waves online with Taglish rendition of “I Do (Cherish You).”
Jeff said when asked about their lineup for the concert, “We'd like to think we have a couple of things up on our sleeves. But we don't wanna give it away. Like you said, without revealing to much, both shows will be very exciting. Hopefully, both crowds will leave with a smile on their face.”
Meanwhile, Nick added in jest, “The first night would be like, kind of our standard show. Then, on night two, it would be like our standard show but we will be naked.”
When asked for a message to their Pinoy fans, he turned serious and said, “The Philippines is where we felt like true stardom and success. That has not lost on us. We've had some incredible experiences there in the Philippines, and we have wanted to come back for years.
“This [concert] is something we look forward to for a long, long time. We certainly have never taken the fans there for granted. Their passion for us and our music in general is something that gets us excited to come back and perform. We cannot wait to be back and do what we love to do for fans who share equal passion for music.”
Full Circle
During the concert, 98 Degrees will also perform some tracks from their new album Full Circle.
Jeff said about the 10-track album, “The reason it's called Full Circle, we kind of wanna go back to our old sound. You know, throughout the years, we've changed vocally, and music has changed. Obviously, you wanna evolve as an artist.
“But for us, we pay a lot of attention to what the fans say, and certainly we have a lot of respect for them because they allow us to do this for a living. So, we wanna get back to our roots. While the songs are newer in production, we feel that stylistically the songs resemble what made us popular and sound like a throwback to 98 Degrees nostalgia. Great melodies, great harmonies, great lyrics, we kinda wanna get back to that.
“You know, for a while we kinda strayed away and tried different things, and may have kind of overthought the sound. Naturally, we kind of drifted back to what our style is.”
Full Circle is 98 Degrees's first album in 12 years. Their last album, 2.0, was released in 2013.
