There is more than one artist or group with this name. 1. Japan's first African-American enka singer 2. A South Korean singer (1) JERO (born Jerome Charles White, Jr., on September 4, 1981) is an enka singer, as well as Japan's first African-American enka singer, signed to Victor Entertainment. JERO was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother was half-Japanese, and his Japanese grandmother got him interested in enka music from a young age. He first went to Japan at age 15 to participate in a Japanese language speech contest. In high school he was captain on the dance team. He enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in information science, and graduated in 2003. During this time, he went on a three month exchange to a university in Kansai, and during his stay was when he decided he would become an enka singer. After graduating, he returned to Japan and worked as a teacher at an eikaiwa school in Wakayama-ken, as well as being a computer engineer in Osaka. In his spare time he appeared on NHK singing programs, and entered many karaoke competitions and winning an array of awards. In particular, he entered a karaoke competition sponsored by Sakamoto Fuyumi and won first place, which is what caught the eye of Victor and got him scouted. He practiced for two years, and finally in February 2008 debuted with the single Umiyuki. In contrast to his music JERO usually maintains the outward appearance of a hip-hop artist. In May 2018, he announced a hiatus to his music career in order return to computer engineering. (2) Jero (제로), stylized JERO and formerly known as J-Yo (제이요), is a Korean singer currently active in South Korea. He debuted within the group TOUCH in 2010 and was a member of the hip-hop group Lucky J. He is pursuing a solo career since 2016, with the release of his first solo single "Airplane". Before entering the music scene, Jun-yong attended Anyang Arts High School as a student in the acting department. He made his debut in 2010, known as Junyong in the boy group Touch under YYJ Entertainment, but left in April 2012 to complete his two-year mandatory military service. On July 9, 2014, Jun-yong was announced as a member of YMC Entertainment's new co-ed hip hop group Lucky J, along with Jessi and J'Kyun, under the stage name J-Yo. He left the group in August 2016, to focus on his solo career with the new stage name, Jero. Jero signed to Echo Global Group, where he debuted as a soloist on August 11, 2016, with the single "Airplane". On March 23, 2017 he came out with two more singles, "Delusional" and "Birthday Blu" with their own respected music videos as well. He then came out with his fifth single, "Traffic Light" on June 21, 2017. In 2018 he releases his sixth single, "Flower Bomb." He also released his seventh single, "Save Me" featuring Park Jimin (15&).