Yonashiro Sho

**Yonashiro Sho** (與那城 奨; born October 25, 1995) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. He debuted as the leader of the Japanese boy group JO1 on March 4, 2020, under the label Lapone Entertainment.

## Early life

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

Yonashiro attended Okinawa Prefecture's West Naha High School. He then enrolled into the Department of Creative Production, Faculty of Management at Japan University of Economics in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture. In March 2019, Yonashiro graduated from university and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career as a singer. Until his participation in *Produce 101 Japan*, he worked as a part-time jobs at various restaurants. According to himself, 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 group JO1.

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

### 2020-present: Debut with JO1, *Protostar* to *Stranger*

On March 4, 2020, JO1 debuted with their first EP *Protostar*. The same day, they held their debut stage with the album's title track "Infinity" (無限大). Yonashiro contributed the lyrics to the track "My Friends" on the group's second EP *Stargazer*, which was released on August 26, 2020.

In January 2021, Yonashiro appeared as a guest on the TBS cooking show *Kurashi no Recipe*.

## Artistry

Takahashi Azusa from Real Sound commended Yonashiro's harmonization with the other members of JO1 and pointed out his natural talent for singing.

## Discography

### Credits

◯ Participated

✖ Did not participate

## Trivia

* His name is written with the kanji in "participate" (與), "what?" (那), "castle" (城"), and "encourage" (奨).
* 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.
* His debut pledge for *Produce 101 Japan* was that he'd write a ballad as JO1's representative song.
* His catchphrase for the finale of *Produce 101 Japan* was "Beautiful muscle brother".
* 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.
* The concept battle song from *Produce 101 Japan* that he wanted to try performing the most was "Happy Merry Christmas".
* He's been friends with Kamiya Kenta from The Rampage from EXILE TRIBE since elementary school.
* His ideal type is someone who is always positive and has a beautiful smile on their face.

## 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. ↑ Okinawa Times — JO1與那城奨「支えてくれたJAMに恩返し」 サードシングルと新たな1年にかける思い
6. ↑ JO1 Official Fanclub Resume
7. ↑ Career+ — I am I
8. ↑ Shingakuzukan Portal — 「JO1（ジェイオーワン）リーダー」與那城 奨
9. ↑ JO1 Official YouTube — JO1｜リーダーを決めよう！
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. ↑ Oricon — JO1、2ndシングル「STARGAZER」表題曲の「OH-EH-OH」MV解禁 圧巻の“ジャケットダンス”披露
13. ↑ TBS *Kurashi no Recipe* Website — Guest Profile: 與那城奨さん
14. ↑ Real Sound — JO1、アルバム『The STAR』に詰まった様々な魅力　グループを構成するファクターが見える作品に
15. ↑ WITH Online — 【JO1が5000人限定配信イベント開催】メンバー挨拶をほぼ全文でレポート！
16. ↑ Tower Records — オーディション番組「PRODUCE 101 JAPAN」、101人の練習生が歌う主題歌“ツカメ～It’s Coming～”パフォーマンス動画が公開1日で100万回再生突破
17. ↑ TBS *Kurashi no Recipe* Website — Guest Profile: 與那城奨さん
18. ↑ JO1 Official Twitter — 今回、国立劇場おきなわで英語のナレーションを務めました！！
19. ↑ Produce 101 Official YouTube — PRODUCE 101 JAPANㅣ沖縄ㅣ【與那城 奨(Yonashiro Sho)】ㅣ国民プロデューサーのみなさまへの公約
20. ↑ *Produce 101 Japan*, Episode 12. 2019.
21. ↑ ViVi — JO1のお母さん的存在！ リーダー與那城奨が苦労したこととは？【毎日JO1企画】
22. ↑ *Produce 101 Japan Fan Book*, Yonashiro Sho's member profile. Wanibooks. 2019.