Yonashiro Sho

## Produce 101 Japan

**Yonashiro Sho** (與那城 奨; born October 25, 1995) is a Japanese singer and member of the Japanese boy group JO1. He rose to prominence after participating in the reality competition show *Produce 101 Japan*, where he ranked 11th.

## Early life

Yonashiro Sho was born on October 25, 1995 in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. He has a younger brother and sister.

In March 2019, Yonashiro graduated from university and went to Tokyo to pursue a career as a singer. After graduating, he was unemployed until he participated in *Produce 101 Japan*. According to him, he did not have much experience with dancing prior to *Produce 101 Japan*.

## Career

### Pre-debut: *Produce 101 Japan*

In 2019, Yonashiro participated in the Japanese version of the reality competition show *Produce 101*, *Produce 101 Japan*. He auditioned as part of the group SIX PACKS. He received an evaluation grade of B and kept the same grade after his re-evaluation. He ended up ranking 11th with 140,003 votes, securing him a spot in the boy band JO1.

On December 29, 2019, Yonashiro was officially announced as the leader of the group through their YouTube channel.

He also participated at the group's first pre-debut fanmeeting on January 31, 2020 at Pacifico Yokohama. The group also held another fanmeeting at Osaka Orix Theater from February 18 to February 20, 2020.

### 2020-present: Debut with JO1, *Protostar*, *Stargazer*, and *The Star*

On March 4, 2020, JO1 debuted with their first single album *Protostar*. The same day, they held their debut stage with the album's title track "Infinity" ("無限大").

The group returned with their second single album *Stargazer* on August 26, 2020. As part of his promotions with JO1, he performed at the 31st Mynavi Tokyo Girls Collection 2020 Autumn/Winter 2020, the largest fashion event in Japan. The group was also scheduled to perform at KCON 2020 JAPAN's main event *KCON 2020 JAPAN x M COUNTDOWN* on April 4, 2020 at Makuhari Messe. Since the event was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, they instead attended KCON:TACT 2020 SUMMER for a Meet&Greet, making them the first Japanese boy group to ever participate in the convention. They also performed at KCON:TACT Season 2 from October 16 to October 25, 2020.

On November 25, 2020, the group released their first full-length album *The Star*. They are also scheduled to hold their first solo online concert, *Starlight*, on December 19, 2020.

## Trivia

* His name is written with the kanji for "participate" ("與"; *yo*), "what?" ("那"; *na*), "castle" ("城"; *shiro*), and "encourage" ("奨"; *sho*).
* His hobbies are muscle training, playing the acoustic guitar, speaking English, and watching movies.
* His special skills are playing the guitar, muscle training, and speaking English, especially in daily conversations.
* He said that if he got into the Top 11 on *Produce 101 Japan*, he'd write a ballad as JO1's representative song.
* According to him, his charm point is his big hands.
* His favorite color is orange.
* His favorite food is apples.
* The thing he hates the most are high places.
* He thinks a person's scent is the most attractive.
* He's been friends with Kamiya Kenta from The Rampage from EXILE TRIBE since elementary school.

## Notes

1. ↑ His childhood nickname, which he revealed for JO1's Children's Day posts on social media.
2. ↑ Japanese word in the Okinawa dialect to express surprise.

## References

1. ↑ JO1 Official Instagram — JO1 Children's Day. #思い出のアルバム #のぞいてみました!
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 JO1 Official Website — Yonashiro Sho's Profile
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *Produce 101 Japan* Offical Website — Yonashiro Sho's Profile
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 GYAO! Official YouTube —【JO1 HOUSE 第0話】3月4日にデビューしたJO1初のレギュラー番組！果たしてどんな番組になるのか！？│毎週木曜よる9時GYAO!で無料配信中！
5. ↑ JO1 Official Fanclub Resume
6. ↑ JO1 Official YouTube — JO1｜リーダーを決めよう！
7. ↑ JO1 Official YouTube — 1st Fanmeeting at Pacifico Yokohama (removed, now only available through the official fanclub)
8. ↑ JO1 Official Website — JO1 1ST FANMEETING Details decided! Pre-registration for JO1 Official Fan Club has started!
9. ↑ JO1 1ST FANMEETING @ Osaka Venue Lottery Bonus: Invite "Meet & Greet"
10. ↑ JO1 Official Instagram — JO1 「PROTOSTAR」2020.03.04 Debut
11. ↑ JO1 Official Website — JO1 debut single "PROTOSTAR" singer photos and jacket photos published
12. ↑ JO1 Official Instagram — JO1 2ND SINGLE 『STARGAZER』 2020.08.26 Release
13. ↑ JO1 Official Website — The second single "STARGAZER" will be released on August 26! (20/08/06：forTUNE music Third reception update)
14. ↑ Girlswalker Official Website — 2020 Autumn/Winter 2020 Artists
15. ↑ JO1 Official Website — "KCON 2020 JAPAN x M COUNTDOWN" 4/4 (Sat) appearance decision
16. ↑ JO1 Official Website — JO1 "KCON: TACT 2020 SUMMER" Meet&Greet appearance decision
17. ↑ Oricon — JO1、『KCON』初出演 日本人ボーイズグループで初の快挙 豆原一成「これからも出続けられるように」
18. ↑ JO1 Official Website — Information on "KCON: TACT season2" appearance decision
19. ↑ JO1 Official Website — 1ST ALBUM "The STAR" to be released on November 25!
20. ↑ JO1 Official Website — JO1's first online solo live "STARLIGHT" will be held!