98 Degrees Aren't Sweating Labels

It's evident that the buff guys in the vocal group 98 Degrees have mellowed with age.

If you mentioned the Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync three years ago, the usually easygoing bandmates would morph into hotheads.

Nowadays, cooler heads prevail when the subject of their peers comes up. The group, all mid-to late-twentysomethings, doesn't care whether its competitors have deals with fast-food chains or that 'N Sync's recent release, "Celebrity," has rolled up staggering numbers and critical acclaim.

"What's happening with those guys doesn't affect us at all," Drew Lachey said in a call from Los Angles where 98 Degrees was rehearsing for the latest leg of its tour.

"For us, it's all about the music, and nobody else has an impact on that. We just got tossed into this boy band pile," Lachey said. "We don't have any boys in this band. There is no token 17-year-old in our group. When we formed in 1996, this boy band thing happened at the same time and caught us completely by surprise."

In 1997, 98 Degrees secured a record deal with Universal, and the act crafted an eponymous debut disc, which spawned the hit "Invisible Man."

A year later, the quartet, which also includes Drew's brother Nick, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons, struck pop pay dirt with the aptly titled "98 Degrees & Rising." The multi-platinum album included such hits as "Because of You," "The Hardest Thing," and "I Do (Cherish You)."

"We appreciate all of the success we had, but we knew we needed to still go a lot further," Lachey said.

The group has made considerable progress, apparent with one spin of the group's latest disc, "Revelation."

Prior efforts were ballad-heavy. There are a few slow jams, such as "My Everything," which was penned by Nick Lachey for his pop star girlfriend, Jessica Simpson.

However, the group, which wrote 11 of the album's 13 songs, expands on its sonic palette by crafting the Latin-flavored "Give Me Just One Night" ("Una Noche"), the funky "You Should Be Mine," and "Dizzy," featuring rap.

"We just wanted to open things up a bit," Lachey said. "There's a big difference at our shows now that we've changed the tempos. It's cool to see people up dancing around. We're having a lot of fun with it."