98 Degrees and rising

TORONTO--It can't be easy living in the shadow of such uber boy bands as Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC.

 But the latest, fast-rising entry in that leg of the pop music race, 98 Degrees, still managed to drive the mercury up both inside and outside MuchMusic's studios last night during their 90-minute Intimate And Interactive TV special. Justin Jeffre, Jeff Timmons, and buff brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, all in their mid- to late-20s offered up the now-familiar formula of clean-cut sex appeal and R&B flavoured pop.

 Still, the Cincinnati, Ohio, foursome, who have sold four million albums worldwide since 1997, claim to be different.

 "You know I think they're great guys and we're friends with those guys, and they're talented, I just think we're different," said Jeff of the other current boy bands.

 "We're trying to concentrate on our vibe, our own music, we feel that we're a little bit different, not to say we're better or anything like that. We just know we're extremely different in our musical taste and our musical style."

 Added Justin: "I think the group that really inspired us most though was BoyzII Men so when people say boy group, Boyz II Men was the group."

 And even if 98 Degrees have yet to make significant gains on Backstreet Boys or 'NSYNC -- their most recent date here in March was at Massey Hall -- their fledgling popularity still drew hundreds of screaming, placard-waving, picture-taking fans to downtown Toronto.

 The guys answered questions and performed, both inside the studio and out on the street, about a dozen of their songs, including bit hits I Do (Cherish You), Because Of You and The Hardest Thing from their 1998 breakthrough second album, 98 Degrees And Rising, and their latest holiday single,This Gift.

 And while no deep, dark secrets were revealed, the four band members claimed to be unaffected by fame so far.

 "We're the same guys that we've always been," said Jeff. "I think we can attribute that to our parents. They raised us to be very normal guys and I think we are and we hope to remain that way forever. We have each other to keep in line so we don't see us getting egotistical or getting too big for our own britches any time soon."

 To that end, Nick said he still buys his own underwear and socks. In fact, a little of that went on display when the four members were asked to take off their tops to show who has "the best abs."

 Only Nick, the group's designated muscle man, was brave enough to expose his stomach after the crowd out on the street started chanting: "Take it off!Take it off! Take it off!"

 "It was just Thanksgiving in the U.S. last week and we all ate like pigs," he claimed, before hiking up his sweater to reveal a six-pack.

 "It really doesn't look that bad," Nick admitted.

 Certainly not to his female fans, who roared their approval.

 Their song list, inside and out

 Songs by 98 Degrees last night:

  Heat It Up
  Because Of You
  I Do (Cherish You)
  Still
  Is It Enough
  Invisible Man
  Do You Wanna Dance/Superstition
  The Hardest Thing
  True To Your Heart
  This Gift