May espesyal na koneksiyon sa Pilipinas ang 98 Degrees member na si Justin Jeffre.
Ito ang kanyang ibinahagi sa Zoom media conference na naganap nitong Biyernes, Mayo 2, 2025, para sa darating na pagtatanghal ng kanilang grupo.
Gaganapin ang 98 Degrees in Manila sa Mayo 30 at 31, sa Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
“The Philippines has a special place for us. We’ve been so excited to come back,” sabi ni Justin.
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Kasunod nito ang rebelasyong isinilang sa Pilipinas ang kanyang nakatatandang kapatid na si Dan nang lumapag sa buwan ang Apollo 11 noong Hulyo 20, 1969.
Ang Apollo 11 ang kauna-unahang matagumpay na mission ng U.S. na dalhin ang mga tao sa buwan.
Lahad ni Jusin, “My brother was actually born in the Philippines on the day they landed in the moon, and I sort of feel like an extra special connection to that place.”
Maliban kay Justin, ang iba pang miyembro ng 98 Degrees ay ang magkapatid na sina Nick at Drew Lachey at si Jeff Timmons.
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FIRST VISIT IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 1999
Bukod sa extra special connection ni Justin sa Pilipinas, hinding-hindi malilimutan ng sikat na '90s pop at R&B group ang kanilang unang pagtatanghal sa ating bansa noong Nobyembre 17, 1999 — ang panahong gumagawa pa lamang sila ng pangalan.
Pahayag ni Jeff: “What a lot of people don’t know is we didn’t necessarily have a ton of success in the United States first.
“We ended up going up to Canada and have some success there.
"But, really, the first time we really got a resounding excitement from a fan base was when we stepped foot in Manila for the first time.
"So, we absolutely love the fan base. We feel like we owe it to our fans.
"It’s been twentysome years since we’ve been there and we’re really, really excited to get back there.
“We tried to make it happen a couple of times, most recently, [but] COVID got in the way. So we’re truly excited to get back.
“There’s so many fond memories, really. How the country embraced us and really kinda led us to our success not just in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, but the rest of the world.”
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Gaya nina Justin at Jeff, nananabik si Nick sa pagbabalik nila sa Pilipinas dahil nagmarka sa kanya nang husto ang mainit na pagtanggap ng mga Pilipino sa kanilang grupo.
Saad niya: “Leaving the concert venue in a van and the fans, like, literally rocking the van back and forth. I mean, the passion of the Filipino people for music, in general, and for our group is overwhelming.
“It’s been overwhelming so we’ve been excited to have a return to the Philippines for a long time.
“It’s a special place and we’re super excited to be back.”
Si Nick ang pinakasikat na miyembro ng 98 Degrees at nagkaroon ng acting career dahil sa popularidad niya bilang mang-aawit.
98 DEGREES SONGS
Kapatid ni Nick si Drew Lachey, na itinuturing na isang karangalan na naging soundtrack ng buhay ng mga tagahanga nila ang kanilang mga awitin.
Ilan sa mga pinasikat na kanta ng 98 Degrees ay ang "I Do," "Because of You," "The Hardest Thing," "Still," "True To Your Heart," "My Everything," at "Give Me Just One Night."
Ani Drew: “It’s the biggest honor any musician can have, to have your music be a part of someone’s life.
“We’ve been fortunate that some of our songs have been parts of films or things like that.
"But even more important than that is our songs are parts of people’s weddings, their first dances and their dates, their breakups and helping people get through situations.
“Those are the moments as an artist that you really, really crave and that you long for.”
Ang Viva Live ang producer ng 98 Degrees in Manila.
Special guests sina Katrina Velarde at Janine Teñoso.
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