Jeff Timmons

I don`t know about you, but I`ve had it with sullen MTV stars - Eminem, Christina Aguilera, DMX and the like - sitting atop the world with bored scowls on their faces.

Jeff Timmons of popular vocal group 98 Degrees is a different story entirely. Talking to him, you`d think he`d just won the lottery.

"I thank God every day for all of this," says Timmons, sounding wholly sincere. "I`m all about keeping things in perspective, seizing the day and being appreciative of all my blessings." The blessings are plentiful. 98 Degrees` latest (and third) album, "Revelation," has sold more than 2 million copies and yielded the hit singles "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" and "You`re My Everything." The group just kicked off a 60-city North American arena tour.

But that`s not the whole story. Timmons and his wife Trish have a 2-year-old daughter who clearly is a daddy`s girl.

A little more background on Timmons: He grew up in Perry Township, Ohio. He was involved in theater and choir at Perry, and also appeared in shows at the Players Guild. He now lives in the Los Angeles area.

Timmons was running errands on a recent Monday afternoon, his last day at home before the tour began, when he phoned.

Q. Is this the biggest tour you`ve done, production-wise?

A. By far. We left off doing medium-sized theaters. This time we`re playing places that hold 5,000-10,000 people. It`s going to be an elaborate set with great lighting and some mood-enhancing features to the show, but we`re not going to be flying across the stage on trapezes or anything. We`re more into the singing. We`re primarily a ballad-driven group; people know us for mid-tempo songs and ballads.

Q. Have you felt pressured to do choreography like `N Sync and the Backstreet Boys?

A. For a while we did. It`s natural that we`re compared to groups in the same general category such as `N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, but we tried to catch ourselves. We`re not dancers. (Chuckles)

Q. Do you feel that you guys have really hustled for everything you`ve achieved?

A. As opposed to some groups we`re compared to, we definitely started this group ourselves and we worked very hard to get our foot in the door with no financial backing at the start. We starved for a while in L.A., we barely ate and barely got by. I honestly think we`ve worked very hard to get everything. In 1999, we had 10 days off. In 1998, we had less than 10 days off.

Q. I was flipping through the channels one day and caught you guys singing on a Nickelodeon kids` show.

A. (Chuckles) We`ve done everything. Things for the teen and kids` audience and things for the older crowd. We`ve done soap operas, "General Hospital" and "St. Charles Place." We`ve done "Motown Live." For our last album, we even did a couple of songs live on the Home Shopping Network. That`s what our goal was as a group, to get our music out to all types of people and all ages.

Q. I`ve heard a lot about how corrupt the music industry is. I`ll bet you`ve heard some good stories.

A. Not only have I heard things, I`ve seen it all. Let me tell you, everything you see on "Behind the Music" is true. Not to be negative or anything, but it`s an extremely cut-throat business and it`s extremely difficult to find anyone you can truly trust. We`ve been put through the wringer as a group, but we`ve also had a lot of success in a short time. I`m sure it goes hand in hand.

Q. Do you guys ever read the teen-magazine articles about yourselves?

A. My mom buys `em. I`ve heard everything. I heard I got a nose job. I was engaged to Mariah Carey - that was a big one overseas. There`s been articles that we`ve broken up, that we don`t get along. An article that one of the guys was at a strip club when he wasn`t. Everything you can think of. You can`t really believe anything.

Q. Are you able to go out in public and not be bothered?

A. I find if you just act normal, people are OK. It`s all in the way you carry yourself. If you walk around in a ball cap and shades, all dressed up with lots of jewelry and big security guards with you, you`re naturally going to draw attention. But if you walk around like an average Joe and exchange pleasantries and sign autographs, it`s painless. I have a wife and a daughter, so I`m not into the whole star scene but I`m definitely enjoying every minute.

Q. I saw the "TRL" special ("Total Request Live" on MTV) on you guys the day your album was released.

A. That helped us sell a ton of records. We went from selling 70,000 copies the first week to selling 300,000. And the industry was trying to say that was a disappointment! We`ve sold over two million albums and it hasn`t even been out six months. We`re not disappointed, believe me!

Q. I can`t imagine what it must be like to be in your shoes.

A. It`s been a great ride and I`ve had a lot of fun and I feel very blessed, but it`s a tough, tough business. It`s not only a lot of hard work but the artist is also the last to get paid, after taxes and the record company and management and agents and lawyers. You hear about these multimillion record deals but with a four-man group, after everyone else gets their cut, you don`t make nearly the money you`d think and you probably work 10 times as hard.

Q. I don`t need to tell you that pop stars don`t always last forever. What`s your game plan?

A. We`re going to try to make music as long as we`re having fun. I`m really into production and I`ve started my own company. I want to basically stay in the business and introduce new groups to the world and get them signed to major labels and hopefully be able to give them some wise words about the business.

Q. Tell me about your daughter.

A. Alyssa is 2. She`s a little ball of fire. Lots of personality, kind of crazy. I`ve managed to not miss any of her "first" anythings: walking, talking. It`s been great.

Q. I imagine you`ve gotten to meet some major stars along the way.

A. So many. I`m a big fan of a lot of people. I was speechless when I first met Stevie Wonder. Quincy Jones. Um, who else? Jennifer Lopez. Smokey Robinson welcomed us to the Motown family and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. (Chuckles) It`s been great, man. I`m living a dream, no doubt about it. And I still remember my roots in Canton and Massillon, Ohio, and never forget where I`m from.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Dan Kane