Jo Mingyu, often spelled Cho Minkyu (born 19 November 1990) is a South Korean opera singer, the leader and leggero tenor of crossover vocal group Forestella.
Jo Mingyu was born in Taebaek, his mother was a kindergarten teacher, while his father taught at the Taebeak Mechanical Technical High School.
[2] In 2016, at the Geneva International Music Competition, he was told he would not be able to get lead singing roles in opera, due to his light leggero tone.
Jo Mingyu got the nickname "Strategist" during the competition because he meticulously considered each contestant's timbre and whether they would match his voice before selecting them.
[7] Jo defines his voice type as a leggero tenor, because of which he was told he would not be able to play lead roles in opera.
Singer Bada called it "attractive", while Michael K. Lee said "there is something free and easy about the way you sing, like the sun's coming out.