JONTE

JONTE promoting Delight (2017)

**Shin Jonte** ( 施鐘泰 ), better known by his stage name **JONTE** ( ジョンテ ), is a Japanese singer and actor of Korean descent.

He was one of the finalists of the *EXILE VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 2006 ~ASIAN DREAM~* and debuted as a soloist managed by LDH in 2007. Furthermore, he was a member of the theatrical troupe Gekidan EXILE between 2009 and 2011.

## Early life

Shin Jonte was born on December 17, 1980, in Yao (Osaka Prefecture), Japan. He is a third generation Korean living in Japan.

He had always loved signing, but never imagined to follow the career path of a professional singer. Initially, he intended to work for a company and live the life of a non-celebrity. However, he changed his mind after watching the TV show of a singing competition that formed the vocal duo CHEMISTRY.

## Career

### 2006-2007

In July 2006, JONTE participated in the *EXILE VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 2006 ~ASIAN DREAM~* and became one of the finalists. In 2007, the five finalists of the audition formed the unit "Dreamers" and released the single "Song Soldier ~Ashita no Aenshi~ (ソングソルジャー ～明日の戦士～)" on March 7.

Later that year, JONTE debuted as a solo artist managed by LDH with the simultaneous release of his debut mini-album *JONTE is...* and the debut single "Yureru" on August 22. Additionally, he launched his musical career in Japan, Korea and China at the same time.

### 2008-2010

He continued to release the singles "Michi no Saki ~and you~" (March 5) and "Dear..." (October 8) in 2008.

In 2009, he became a member of the theatrical troupe Gekidan EXILE and began working as an actor. In the same year, he also released his 4th single "if" for which he wrote the lyrics himself.

On January 20, 2010 JONTE released a Best Album titled*My Way ~Hajimari no Basho~*. On the same day, he also released a Cover album of Korean songs titled *HAN*. He concluded his musical activities in 2010 by released his 5th single "Friend" on December 4.

### 2011-2012

On April 7, 2011, JONTE revealed that he would be working as a self-producing artist. A few months later on July 19, it was announced that he had left Gekidan EXILE to focus on his solo career as a singer.

He continued his musical career in 2012 by releasing his 6th single "Aishiteta" on March 8 and another mini-album titled *Through my Life* on December 12. Afterwards, JONTE went back to perform in stage plays and musicals such as *TEREBI no Namida* (March 2013).

### 2015-2017

After nearly 3 years of no musical releases, it was announced that JONTE had left LDH and his record label rhythm zone on March 31, 2015. Afterwards, he participated in several collaboration works such as the *R.Yamaki Produce Project*.

In 2016, he signed with the record label Billboard Records, embarked on his first solo live tour *JONTE Spring LIVE TOUR「Pre:HEARsAl」*, released the album *Reboot* and promoted it by going on another live tour titled *JONTE LIVE「Reboot」*.

In 2017, he changed record labels to Tokuma Japan Communications and released his 3rd album *Delight* on April 26 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut. It featured a variety of styles, such as his typical ballads, but also up-tempo pop tunes, gospel numbers and R&B tracks.

## Discography

### Studio albums

1. [2010.01.20] My Way ~Hajimari no Basho~ (~始まりの場所~)
2. [2016.05.04] Reboot
3. [2017.04.26] Delight

### Mini-albums

1. [2007.08.22] JONTE is...
2. [2012.12.12] Through my Life

### Singles

1. [2007.08.22] Yureru (ゆれる)
2. [2008.03.05] Michi no Saki ~and you~ (道の先 ~and you~)
3. [2008.10.08] Dear...
4. [2009.02.04] if
5. [2010.12.04] Friend
6. [2012.03.08] Aishiteta (愛してた)

### Participating works / Collaborations

* [2007.03.07] Dreamers〜EXILE VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION FINALIST〜 - Song Soldier ~Ashita no Aenshi~ (ソングソルジャー ～明日の戦士～)
* [2009.09.16] m-flo TRIBUTE〜maison de m-flo〜 (*#1 May J. & JONTE - miss you*)
* [2010.12.08] MAKAI - COLORS (*#3 Roller Coaster feat. JONTE*)
* [2015.07.29] R.Yamaki Produce Project *Ride On! feat. JONTE*
* [2015.08.12] R.Yamaki Produce Project *You Feel Me? feat. 友莉夏* (chorus participation)
* [2015.11.07] ミトカツユキ× JONTE - Mitojonte (ミトジョンテ) (single)
* [early spring 2017] *Kinky Boots* ORIGINAL JAPAN CAST live recording

## Live

1. [2016.03.24-2016.04.12] JONTE Spring LIVE TOUR「Pre:HEARsAl」
2. [2016.10.22-26] JONTE LIVE「Reboot」

## Trivia

* JONTE’s main genre is ballad with a Soul influence
* He's good friends with Kaname Kawabata from the vocal duo CHEMISTRY who's also one of his idols

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 JONTE デビュー10周年に放つ挑戦作！ 川畑要による楽曲も含むアルバムをリリース／インタビュー1
2. ↑ ライブレポート：EXILE “VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 2006”／日本武道館
3. ↑ 15～28歳の男6人組・劇団EXILE華組が旗揚げ公演スタート!
4. ↑ ご存知の方々も
5. ↑ この度、
6. ↑ お知らせ！！

## External links

* Official Website
* Official Blog
* Instagram
* Twitter
* JONTE Staff Instagram