Shownu

Son Hyun-woo (, born June 18, 1992), better known by his stage name Shownu, is a South Korean singer and dancer. He is the main dancer and vocalist in the South Korean boy band Monsta X, which debuted under Starship Entertainment in 2015 through Mnet's survival show, "No.Mercy".
Career.
Early life and pre-debut.
Shownu was born in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu in Seoul, South Korea on June 18, 1992.
Shownu was initially a trainee of JYP Entertainment, for around two years, after winning first place in the JYP auditions in 2009. He auditioned to JYP Entertainment as it is the label of the singer Rain, who inspired Shownu to become an idol. Although Shownu gained praise at the company for his powerful dancing, he left the company citing conflicts with the company and a feeling of stagnation.
Shownu continued to participate in the idol industry, becoming a backup dancer for Lee Hyori and doing promotions with her, as well as appearing in her music videos, "Bad Girls" and "Going Crazy". He also appeared in the music videos, "Talk to My Face" by D-Unit and "Pitapat" by Bestie.
After he auditioned and joined Starship Entertainment, he became part of the project Nu Boyz, alongside future Monsta X members Jooheon and Wonho, as well as #Gun.
In December 2014, he competed in Mnet's survival reality show, "No.Mercy". He, alongside six other contestants, then debuted in the hip-hop boy group, Monsta X in 2015.
2015-2017: Debut in Monsta X.
Shownu debuted as the leader and main dancer of Monsta X on May 14, 2015, with the EP "Trespass".
Since debut, Shownu has made significant solo appearances on variety and reality shows, including being a regular cast member for two seasons of "Lipstick Prince", which landed him a commercial film after winning the show, as well as appearing as a contestant on "King of Mask Singer" in 2018, as "Okey Donkey", and guesting on more than 10 variety shows. Shownu has been praised for the diverse types of entertainment he demonstrates in his appearances and his overall ability as an entertainer. Shownu also appeared in Sistar's "Shake It" music video.
Along with being the main dancer of Monsta X, he also contributes to the group's choreography and has been praised for his skills by fellow choreographers. He has released his own choreography for songs such as Ariana Grande's "Side to Side", Richard Parker's "Psychic", Charlie Puth's "LA Girls", Trevor Daniel's "Falling", and The Weeknd's "Heartless". Shownu also created the choreography for Bruno Mars's "Versace on the Floor" and Monsta X's "Mirror" that were performed at their world tours.
In June 2016, Shownu made his first solo appearance in a magazine for "InStyle Korea".
2018-present: Solo work and television and magazine appearances.
In 2018, Shownu also collaborated on the British band PREP's lead single "Don't Look Back" for their forthcoming album alongside Hwang So-Yoon of Se So Neon. Shownu had sought out PREP for collaboration as he was already a fan of the group. He appeared in magazines with former member Wonho for "Nylon Korea" in January, "GQ Korea" in August, and in October for "Dazed Korea" promoting "Under Armour". He also made a solo appearance in Taiwan magazine "Bella" in February.
In 2019, he again featured in a magazine alongside Wonho, for "Elle Korea" in August, where they were promoting Tom Ford's latest perfume line. He also featured on the cover of "BEAUTY+" in October and again in November 2020.
Shownu is a credited writer on "Mirror" from "", and as a writer and composer on three of Monsta X's tracks from their sixth studio album, "All About Luv", "Who Do U Love? (feat. French Montana)", "Middle of the Night", and "Beside U (feat. Pitbull)". He also co-wrote "Someone's Someone" alongside Before You Exit members.
In 2020, prior to the release of Monsta X's eighth EP "Fantasia X", Shownu injured his back, and the group delayed their comeback by two weeks to allow Shownu time to heal properly from his injury. Prior to Monsta X's live-streamed concert "Live From Seoul with Luv", scheduled for July 25, Shownu had to undergo emergency left eye retinal detachment surgery, and so the concert was postponed to August 8, to give him time to recover from surgery. He featured alongside Monsta X members in magazines several times in 2020, including appearing alongside Minhyuk and Joohoney for "Harper's Bazaar Korea" in May, Kihyun for "W Korea" in June, and with Joohoney for "Esquire Korea" in November.
In August, it was announced he would be featuring on the soundtrack for "She's My Type", alongside groupmate Minhyuk, marking his first soundtrack appearance, independent of Monsta X, since 2011. The song is titled "Have a Goodnight", and was released on September 11. On October 15, Shownu released a rock-style song for the soundtrack of "Tale of the Nine Tailed", titled "I'll Be There".
In September, he appeared on the cover of "Cosmopolitan Korea" for their 20th anniversary issue, which became sold out as soon as sales began. 
In October, he had a solo feature in "Dazed Korea" for the Monsta X "Dazed" Project, "GQ Korea" to create a fashion film promoting "Under Armour", and he appeared on the back cover of "1st Look Magazine" Korea promoting Moschino Toy Boy perfume. After the magazine's release, Moschino perfume's Toy 2 sold out on Olive Young's online mall and also ranked first in perfume brand ranking. Following the success of the promotion, Shownu was selected as the first Korean muse for Italian luxury fashion brand Moschino perfume.
In November, Shownu began appearing as a judge on Mnet's "Cap-Teen", a survival reality show.
In March 2021, Shownu appeared in "Elle Korea" to promote "Moschino" Toy 2 Bubble Gum perfume. He also appeared in "Dazed Korea" promoting "Brooks Sports" shoe and clothing line. Shownu, along with Monsta X member Lee Min-hyuk (singer, born 1993), where chosen as the cover models for the first issue of "Y Magazine" Korea. Shownu was invited to the grand opening of the "Dolce & Gabbana" store in Seoul, Korea.
In March 2021, it was announced that Shownu would appear in the Netflix show "Goedam 2".
In May, Starship announced that Shownu would be taking a hiatus from Monsta X and would not promote for their upcoming ninth EP due to health problems related to his eye retinal detachment.