90年代后期,Nick Lachey以身为98 Degrees成员的身份在男孩团风潮中尝到走红流行乐坛的滋味,2002年,Nick与流行女歌手Jessica Simpson步上红地毯的另一端,展开下一阶段的人生,2003年,这对银色佳偶以新婚生活的实境秀节目「Newlyweds : Nick & Jessica」掀起电视圈的明星实境秀狂潮,2006年,Nick Lachey结束了他与Jessica的婚姻生活,紧接着,他以第2张大碟《What‘s Left Of Me》的优异表现证明他是一个具有单打独斗实力的艺人,同时也是一个才华洋溢的创作型歌手。《What‘s Left Of Me》发行首周以17万张的销售张数空降全美流行专辑榜亚军,首支同名单曲“What‘s Left Of Me”一举冲进全美热门单曲榜[#6]、流行单曲榜[#5]、热门数位单曲榜[#4]、热门舞曲播发榜[#8]等4大排行榜的TOP10。
于肯塔基州出生,在俄亥俄州辛辛那提长大的Nick,最早是个疯狂的运动粉丝,辛辛那提孟加拉国虎美式足球队或是辛辛那提红人棒球队都是他热烈支持的队伍,不过,他对音乐的天份却改变了他的一生,他的音乐才华,让他获得了在辛辛那提高校选修表演艺术课程的机会,随后,他与Jeff Timmons等人组成了98 Degrees,97-2000年间,乐团创造了“Because Of You”[#3]、“The Hardest Thing”[#5]、“Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)”[#2]等畅销曲,还分别与传奇巨星Stevie Wonder、天后Mariah Carey合作了动画片《花木兰》主题曲“True To Your Heart”、冠军抒情曲“Thank God I Found You”,2002年,98 Degrees划下休止符。2002年10月,Nick与Jessica Simpson结婚,2003年秋季,两人以MTV频道的新婚生活实境秀「Newlyweds : Nick & Jessica」走红电视圈,在这段期间,Nick发表个人首张专辑《SoulO》,并以专辑中的抒情曲“This I Swear”晋升热门单曲榜第11名,2004年,Nick应邀参予热门影集《圣女魔咒》的演出。
年度大碟《What‘s Left Of Me》中,Nick参予了8首歌曲的创作,同时也与为布兰妮打造无数畅销曲的瑞典创作组合Andreas Carlsson、Anders Bagge合作了3首歌曲,专辑中的制作群十分多样,包括曾经为“加拿大偶像”多位赢家的专辑担纲制作的加拿大创作高手Rob Wells,曾为Jesse McCartney、Natasha Bedingfield谱写畅销曲的Greg Wells,以及制作过Mandy Moore专辑的Dan Muckala,跟希腊裔歌手Emmanuel Kiriakou 电影「我的希腊婚礼」选用他多首创作曲]等人。专辑以浓密的弦乐编曲,动人的词曲旋律,融合Nick真诚告白式的唱腔,完成12首动人的流行创作,像是充满自省色彩的“On Your Own”、“Resolution”,扣人心弦的“Beautiful”,轻盈动人的“I Can‘t Hate You Anymore”等。
从流行名团的当家主唱到单飞后的歌唱演艺生涯,以及与Jessica Simpson的婚姻生活,Nick Lachey把所有的人生感触全都写进了这张专辑。
by MacKenzie Wilson
As the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC redefined pop music for the masses upon the closing of the 1990s, 98° were also making girls scream and swoon with their darling good looks and delightsome harmonies. Fronting the vocal group was the svelte charmer Nick Lachey. This onetime sports medicine major was a bona fide star thanks to his sensitive performance style, thus a career in Hollywood seemed destined for Lachey.
Born Nicholas Scott Lachey on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee in fall 1973, he and his younger brother Drew excelled in sports and academics while attending Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts. There, the Lachey brothers honed their vocal abilities, but it wasn't until Nick was a student at Miami University in Ohio that he found himself seriously considering a career in music. He and soon-to-be bandmate Jeff Timmons were invited to attend auditions for an up-and-coming vocal group in Los Angeles. Drew and pal Justin Jeffre jumped aboard shortly thereafter, and 98° was sired. The band went on to release four albums (all of which went platinum), and singles such as "My Everything," "Way You Want Me To," and "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" became chart and radio favorites across North America.
Just as the boy band phenomenon began winding down somewhat, Lachey felt it was time to focus on other artistic ventures. The second tenor married his longtime girlfriend, singer Jessica Simpson, in fall 2002 and launched a solo career. He and Simpson instantly became A-list celebrities when their MTV-based reality show, Newlyweds, captured American audiences in 2003. While their show was still going strong, Lachey issued his first album for Universal, the R&B/pop-flavored album SoulO, before the year's end. In between albums, Lachey tried his hand at acting. He appeared in several episodes of the WB's Charmed in 2004 and 2005, and a small part in the Nora Ephron comedy, Bewitched. Before the year's end, Lachey and Simpson announced their separation. In the midst of a tabloid field day, Lachey resumed his music career in spring 2006 with the release of his second album, a number two hit titled What's Left of Me.