Because of You

Background:

Singer and songwriter Jeff Timmons is famous as the founding member and part of the American pop musical group 98 Degrees. The group's first album, “98 Degrees” (1997), went gold in the US. They experienced a breakthrough success with their sophomore effort, “98 Degrees and Rising” (1998), which sold over four million copies in the US alone. The album spawned two Top 10 hits: “Because of You” (#3) and “The Hardest Thing” (#5). The third album “Revelation” (2000) was certified double platinum by the RIAA. It produced the Top 2 hit “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche).” Along with Joe, Timmons and his bandmates were featured on the Mariah Carey No. 1 hit and Grammy Award nominating single “Thank God I Found You” (2000). 98 Degrees has been on hiatus since 2002. In 2004, Timmons launched his first solo album, “Whisper That Way.”

Timmons has actively participated in several charity organizations, including St. Jude Children's Hospital and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics Aids Foundation. He owns a multimedia distribution company called iamMedia.

Timmons is the father of two. He lives outside of Los Angeles in Orange County, California.

Sugar

Childhood and Family:

Jeffrey Brandon Timmons, who would later be popular as Jeff Timmons, was born on April 30, 1973, in Canton, Ohio, to Patricia and James Timmons. He has two siblings, Tina and Michael. Jeff attended Malone College, in which he played football for a year, and majored in Psychology at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. While at Kent, he sang at a college party with three friends, and got good response from the female audiences for his voice. IT was not long before he quit school and relocated to Los Angeles to try his hand in entertainment.

Jeff has two children, daughter Alyssa and son Jeffrey Jr., from his previous marriage to Trisha Sperry. He is currently married to Amanda Timmons. His nickname is Sugar.

Whisper That Way

Career:

Jeff Timmons left university to pursue a career in show biz in Los Angeles, CA. He received several acting jobs, including a commercial for the US Navy, but music remained his true passion. Along with the Lachey brothers Nick and Drew and Justin Jeffre, he formed the singing group 98 Degrees in the mid 1990s. The group's lack started to change when they took an opportunity to perform during a radio broadcast of a Boys II, which they had attended in the hope of handing a demo tape to the band. They were heard by Paris D'Jon, the manager of hip hop singer Montell Jordan, who then became the band's manager and helped the group land opening gigs on Jordan's tour. By the time the group completed the tour, the foursome had scored a recording deal with Motown.

98 Degrees launched their eponymous debut album on July 29, 1997. The album reached No. 145 in the Billboard 200 and No. 88 in Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The lead single “Invisible Man” (released: June 24, 1997) peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the group's breakthrough hit. The song also reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and No. 38 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It received gold certification from the RIAA in October 1997. In UK, “Invisible Man” peaked at No. 66 on the country's Singles Chart. The album was re-released later on March 1998, with the addition of the new single “Was It Something I Didn't Say” as a replacement of the original “You Are Everything.”

In 1998, 98 Degrees performed the song “True to Your Heart,” a duet with labelmate Stevie Wonder, for the animated film “Mulan.” It peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and No. 51 on the UK Singles Chart. The group built popularity through the song.

The group, however, did not enjoy breakthrough success until they released the second studio album “98 Degrees and Rising” on October 20, 1998. The album peaked at No. 14 and No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, respectively, went 4x platinum in 1998. The lead single “Because of You” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 15 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream and No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart. It was certified platinum in December 1998. Another single “The Hardest Thing” (released: June 8, 1999) peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on both the Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs), No. 16 on the Adult Top 40 and No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA. A remake of Mark Wills' “I Do (Cherish You)” was released as the final single from the album on July 24, 1999. The song peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.

On October 19, 1999, 98 Degrees released a Holiday album called “This Christmas.” It peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard 200 and received platinum in the US. Its single “This Gift” reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Entering the new millennium, 98 Degrees scored a Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit with “Thank God I Found You,” a single by Mariah Carey from her 1999 album, “Rainbow.” The R&B power ballad also made it to the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. It also brought the group a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

On September 26, 2000, 98 Degrees returned with their third studio album, “Revelation.” The album recahed No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum in the US. “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)” was released as the album's first single in September 2000. the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 61 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow up single “My Everything” (2000) peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the last single “The Way You Want Me To” failed to enter the Hot 100 chart.

On May 7, 2002, the group released a compilation album called “The Collection.” The greatest hits album peaked at No. 153 on the Billboard 200. The new track “Why (Are We Still Friends)” was released as the single from the album, but it failed to chart.

Timmons and other members of 98 Degrees decided to take an extended hiatus in 2002 to fulfill other ambitions and opportunities. Timmons' solo career began by touring with Jim Brickman. His solo debut album, “Whisper That Way,” which he also produced, was released on August 24, 2004 through SLG Records. He wrote and arranged every songs on the album. The title track “Whisper That Way” reached No. 23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary. The album enjoyed success overseas and reached No. 1 in Japan, China and Malaysia.

In September 2005, 98 Degrees performed at Club Purgatory in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati to support bandmate Justin Jeffre in his candidacy for mayor of Cincinnati.

In October 2006, Timmons took part in the VH1 reality TV series “Mission: Man Band,” a show that grouped 4 former pop singers, Timmons, Bryan Abrams of (Color Me Badd), Rich Cronin of (LFO) and Chris Kirkpatrick of (*NSYNC) to form a new band called Sureshot.

In December 2009, Timmons offered his second album to fans for free via his website. The album included the single “Emotional High.”

From May 12 to June 5, 2011, Timmons joined The Chippendales male stripper show at RIO Las Vegas, where he served as emcee and singer.

Awards:
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