An Oct. 19 release date has been set for a new Christmas album from 98 Degrees [ tickets ], a group that from the looks of things will be spending the holidays on the road. The group has been touring the U.S. with barely a breather since April, and recently kicked off the second leg of the "Heat It Up" tour.

The new album, to be released on Universal Records, will be titled ''This Christmas,'' and radio stations will receive the first single, ''This Gift,'' on Oct. 28.

In other news from 98 Degrees, the group joined Mariah Carey in the studio last week to record ''Thank God I Found You.'' The song will be on Carey's new album, which is due for release in November.

The first leg of 98 Degrees' ''Heat It Up'' Tour opened this spring, and the group followed by spending much of the summer in the headlining slot on the Nickelodeon ''All That'' tour. The second leg of the ''Heat It Up'' tour opened last week.

No Authority (whose oldest member clocks in at the grizzled age of 19) supports on the tour through October. They'll release their second album next year on Michael Jackson's Epic/MJJ label.

In November, 98 Degrees will open for Phil Collins at Madison Square Garden in New York before embarking on an international tour in mid-month. The itinerary shows 98 Degrees somewhere between shows in Sydney and Singapore on Christmas Day.