Before he starred as the hunky foil to his then-wife—the eye-rolling and uber-blonde Jessica Simpson—on the fascinating mid-2000s pop-culture artifact known as Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, you may recall that Nick Lachey was the beefiest quarter of 98 Degrees. His quartet of blue-eyed soulsters continue to draw crowds with their sticky four-part harmonies and (mostly) chiseled chins, especially when they are singing Christmas tunes. But we’re just deflecting with snark. “The Hardest Thing” was one of the first jams we ever slow-danced to in junior high. That’s gotta be worth something.
98 Degrees at Christmas
Sun, 7:30pm, $59+
Flint Center, Cupertino
