Boy band 98 Degrees have revealed that Taylor Swift inspired them to re-record some of their classic hits.
The ’90s band, consisting of Jeff Timmons (50), Nick Lachey (49), Drew Lachey (47) and Justin Jeffre (50), told E! News that the 33-year-old Bad Blood hitmaker influenced her when she re-recorded three of her albums after losing ownership of her first six records.
“We’re in the studio right now working on a new project.” “We’re going to be re-recording five of our classic hits in a re-record/get-your-masters-back kind of move,” Nick shared.
“And then we’ll also have five new songs and a new single coming out at the beginning of the year,” he added.
“We thought it would be natural for us to do something like a re-recording of our masters,” Jeff explained. “Taylor Swift kind of brought it to the forefront.” Fans accepted that. And so we say, “Okay, now it’s time to do it.”
Inspired: Boy band 98 Degrees revealed that Taylor Swift inspired them to re-record some of their classic hits; (LR) Members Jeff Timmons, 50, Justin Jeffre, 50, Nick Lachey, 49, and Drew Lachey, 47, seen in 2023
Paving the way: “Taylor Swift kind of brought it to the forefront.” Fans embraced that. And so we say, “Okay, now it’s time to do it”; Swift, 33, is pictured in 2023
Meanwhile, Drew marveled at how the star paved the way for the practice to become more popular.
“I feel like almost before Taylor did it, I was like, ‘Oh, you’re rerecording the masters,'” he said.
“It was kind of like, ‘I’ll just stick with the original.’ When she did and said, “No, this is my music. I want to repossess her,” people said, “Yes, Taylor!”
“Now everyone is saying, ‘I want to re-record my master album and release it again.’ So I feel like there is now an acceptance and almost an alliance between the artists and the fans to support the newly recorded masters .”
98 Degrees released their debut album 98 Degrees in 1997, catapulting them to fame in the music industry throughout the ’90s and early 2000s.
The group went on hiatus in 2003 before reforming in 2012.
Swift is currently set to release her fourth re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on October 27th.
The star initially announced that she would be re-recording previous versions of her albums in 2019 after Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records and her catalog of master recordings.
Classics: “We’re in the studio right now working on a new project.” “We’re going to be re-recording five of our classic hits in a re-record/get-your-masters-back kind of move,” Nick shared, adding that they would also record new songs; They can be seen around 1995
Review: 98 Degrees released their debut album 98 Degrees in 1997. The group later went on hiatus in 2003 before reuniting in 2012. Seen on stage at The Forum, London, 1999
Trendsetter: Swift is currently set to release her fourth re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on October 27th. It can be seen in 2023
Feud: The star initially announced that she would be re-recording previous versions of her albums in 2019 after Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun acquired Big Machine Records and their catalog of master recordings for over $300 million; It can be seen in 2021
Review: Swift was signed to Big Machine Records early in her career. She can now legally re-record her albums because she wrote her own songs and has the publishing rights to them; Pictured with Big Machine Records founder Scott Borchetta in 2013
On the same day that Braun’s contract was announced, Taylor claimed that she had been begging to get her work back for years, but was only given the opportunity to re-sign with Big Machine Records and “win back” each album by producing a different album “.
Big Machine Records founder Scott Borchetta, 61, claimed the singer previously had a chance to buy her older work, but that fell through when she secured a deal with Universal Music Group. Swift’s lawyers denied knowing about the $300 million sale and said she was not given an opportunity to repossess her music.
Braun, manager of Bieber and Ariana Grande, faced backlash after posting a now-deleted Instagram post in which he bragged about “buying Taylor Swift.”
Swift re-recorded three of her albums – Fearless, Red and Speak Now – and renamed them, adding “Taylor’s Version” to the end of the album name.
She can legally re-record her albums because she wrote her own songs and has the publishing rights to them.
The pop star is currently on her sixth concert tour – The Eras Tour – which revisits all her musical eras and albums, including the ones she re-recorded.