Rise of 98 Degrees Timmons was the founding member of 98 Degrees. While studying psychology at Kent State, Timmons decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. Although he received several acting jobs (including a commercial for the U.S. Navy), his passion belonged to music and he formed a singing group subsequently. Timmons (along with Justin Jeffre, and brothers
Drew Lachey and
Nick Lachey) formed independently and were later signed to the
Motown label in the mid-1990s. In 1997, they released their first single "Invisible Man" which peaked at number 12 on the
Billboard Hot 100. After building popularity with their appearance in the movie
Mulan, singing "True to Your Heart" which had them collaborate with
Stevie Wonder, their success broke out in late 1998 with their album
98 Degrees and Rising, which included the hit singles "
The Hardest Thing", "
I Do (Cherish You)" and "
Because of You". In 2000, the group released their fourth album
Revelation which became their highest-charting album in the
Billboard 200. The group took a hiatus in 2002 though they reunited briefly to sing on ''Nick and Jessica's Christmas Special'', a Christmas TV special which featured member Nick Lachey and his then-wife, singer-actress
Jessica Simpson.
Solo ventures Timmons and the other members of 98 Degrees decided to take a break in 2002 after their world tour. Timmons launched his solo career by touring with
Jim Brickman. After positive reviews, he wrote and arranged his first solo album,
Whisper That Way, which was released in August 2004 and included the singles
Whisper That Way,
Better Days and
Favorite Star. The album reached #20 on the
Adult Contemporary chart. In September 2005, Timmons rejoined his band to perform at Club Purgatory in the neighborhood of Cincinnati to support bandmate Justin Jeffre in his candidacy for mayor of Cincinnati. In October 2006, Timmons participated in the
VH1 reality TV series,
Mission: Man Band. This TV show grouped four 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,
Emotional High to fans for free via his website. The album contained the single "Emotional High". In 2012, Timmons joined boy bands
A1 and
Blue in a Southeast Asian world tour and performed both his solo songs and 98 Degrees singles. In 2016, Timmons joined the team on the Discovery Science television series "Droned" as a Co-Executive Producer. The series was picked up for distribution in 94 countries worldwide. In October 2018, Timmons enjoyed one of the most successful ventures of his career, teaming up with CBS Big Brother Legend and IMPACT Wrestling Superstar Mr. PEC-Tacular Jessie Godderz to record the single
The Girl Is With Me. The song (and accompanying music video) garnered rave reviews and went viral, with prominent features in Entertainment Tonight, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Yahoo, and many more worldwide media outlets, spurring talks of a follow-up single. The song is also scheduled to appear in an upcoming episode of the Amazon Prime series
New Dogs, Old Tricks by Gemelli Films.
Men of the Strip In 2011, Timmons joined the
Chippendales male stripper revue as a singer / performer and
MC for a limited run. He was initially skeptical about taking up the offer, but was encouraged by his wife Amanda, and his decision launched a new phase in his career. The success of mixing his performance with the male revue inspired Timmons to propose a more mainstream version with the men performing more than a strip show, but this idea was not supported by Chippendales management. Together with Emmy-nominated choreographer
Glenn Douglas Packard and entrepreneur "Money Mike" Foland, Timmons created the "Men of the Strip" revue, a process documented in a 2014
docusoap film of the same name, produced for the
E! network. Timmons describes the film as "like
Magic Mike with elements of
Sex and the City: the guys' personal lives, they're fighting to be the best at what they can do, but at the end of the day, they're family." as well as touring in the United States and Canada. The Men of the Strip performers are required to sing and dance in shows, at times performing with Timmons who also sometimes acts as MC. ==Personal life==