#2: 98 Degrees is Pure Nostalgia

Old dogs doing old tricks

Some people will immediately say “but what about the 98 Degrees tour!” referencing the apparently successful reboot of the 98 Degrees boy band. To that we must reply that 98 Degrees is a pure nostalgia act, not a band that can still write new music that will have people talking.

The problem arises from 98 Degrees’ tenuous claim to boy band stardom. The group had two big years in the 1990s, but they didn’t make an impression with their music. The group reunited last year for a tour, but the wider music public has no interest in buying tickets.

Fans for life

So who is buying 98 Degrees tickets? Mostly the girls who thought Lachey and his cohorts were cuties back in the 90s. The band attempted a comeback album in 2013, but it flopped, debuting at just number 65 on the Billboard charts and then sinking like a stone.

The album, which was called 2.0, sold only 7,400 copies in its first week, which was a total embarrassment. 2.0’s low album sales forced Lachey to briefly acknowledge reality. Lachey told the Washington Post, “We had a new album out and what we realized is that we’re out there performing, you’re looking out and seeing all these familiar faces, fans that we’ve known for the better part of 15 years now. They’re there with their kids, some of them, and I’m thinking, ‘This is really cool.'”

Lachey and his bandmates then hit the road with other nostalgia acts from the 1990s, playing for old fans rather than trying to attract a new audience.