Nick Lachey has some words of encouragement for BTS—and for fans worried by the band's recent announcement about their future plans.
The singer, who rose to fame with boy band 98 Degrees in the '90s, weighed in on the news that the South Korean pop group's rep confirmed on June 14: That its members planned to "take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats."
"I think everyone's got that creative itch that you have to scratch, and for some, it works out," Nick, 48, said on E!'s Daily Pop, while promoting his partnership with McCormick Grill Mates.
On June 15, BTS member Jungkook clarified on the South Korean live streaming app VLive that BTS will not be disbanding or going on hiatus but will stay active as a group even as individual members work on their own projects, the group's rep told Rolling Stone.
Nick, who has also had some success as a solo artist, said on Daily Pop, "I still do stuff with 98 and I'm proud to say that 25 years later, we're still doing stuff together and still touring and I love it now more than I ever did. So I think there's room for both."
In 2002, 98 Degrees announced on their website that they were taking an "an extended break." They performed together a few times over the next several years, notably on NBC's Today show in 2012, before they released 2.0, their first studio album in 13 years, in 2013.
"We took a break, but we never broke up," Nick's band mate Jeff Timmons, who released a solo album in 2004, told People that year. "We always thought we'd get back together someday."
Also in 2013, the group toured with New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men, and performed on the NBC competition series The Sing-Off, which Nick hosted.
Nick continues to work with his bandmates, who occasionally still perform, record music and make appearances together. Most recently, 98 Degrees collaborated with Canadian country singer Brett Kissel for the single "Ain't the Same," which was released in April, and last month appeared at the HIT Living Foundation's May Day Soiree in Los Angeles.
"You can have that solo creative itch that you scratch, but it doesn't have to come at the expense of the group," Nick said on Daily Pop, "You can have both."
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