About Michael Yo
A 2-time Emmy nominee, Michael Yo is a comedian, actor, and host keeping busy in all of Hollywood’s platforms. The self-proclaimed “Half-Black Brother with a Korean Mother” was born and raised in Houston. Now living in Los Angeles with his family, Michael came up on the live comedy scene under the wings of comedian and talk show host Chelsea Handler and Fillipino-American Stand-up Jo Koy. Micheal Yo now headlines all over the US, bringing his heartfelt and charismatic comedy to audiences of all backgrounds.
Alongside comedy Michael Yo has cultivated an admirable acting career, recently recurring on the CBS sitcom “Kevin Can Wait,”. He also shot a Damon Wayan Jr.’s pilot “Happy Together” for CBS, and was a principal in Facebook’s upcoming Facebook Watch first sitcom series, “Starter Pack.” Michael Yo started out in radio and it continues to be his passion. In July 2012 Micheal Yo started a podcast together with fellow comedian and pal Jo Koy called The Michael Yo and Jo Koy Show. He recently launched his new daily pop culture radio talk show, “The Michael Yo Show,” on the EW channel of SiriusXM and “Hits1 in Hollywood”, channel 2. With an engaging personality as well as natural humour, Micheal Yo’s presenting skills are also in high demand. He was previously seen covering celebrity news and gossip on “The Insider,” “Extra,” “E! News,” as well as guest co-hosting CBS’ “The Talk.” Michael Yo also continues to appear as a hot topic contributor on the popular American talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show.”
WATCH MICHAEL YO: BLASIAN
Join Michael Yo for his authentic account of the highs and lows and being brought up as a mixed race kid in white America. The ultimate crowd pleaser, there’s a lot of laughs and a lot of heart in this easy breezy set exploring parenting, family ties and culture. Expect tears from both ends of the spectrum.
Reviews and Awards
Join Michael Yo for his authentic account of the highs and lows and being brought up as a mixed race kid in white America. The ultimate crowd pleaser, there’s a lot of laughs and a lot of heart in this easy breezy set exploring parenting, family ties and culture. Expect tears from both ends of the spectrum.
‘The biggest laughs of the night… Yo’s life stories alone had the entire club cracking up’
Miami New Times
‘Honest storytelling, comedy inspired by real life, that resonates with the audience’
The San Diego Union Tribune
‘Yo’s view on the comedy world and life is invigorating…His love for his family and comedy go hand in hand, making it relatable, uplifting and downright hilarious’
Metro US
Michael Yo Tickets
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Biography
Michael Yo grew up in the south-eastern Houston neighborhood of Sagemont, with his nuclear physicist father and Korean mother. Growing up there in the 70’s and 80’s, his hometown was far from the multicultural metropolis it is today. He spoke to The Houston Chronicle about living a childhood where his heritage was a source of jokes and mockery – “When I hit school, they still made fun of Asian people by pulling their eyes back…My mom didn’t want me to learn anything about my Korean heritage because they made fun of her. She wanted me to be as Americanized as possible because she saw the hate…My dad has always been strong-willed. He doesn’t care. He went through segregation. He went to Oklahoma State, then Iowa State, got a PhD in nuclear physics. So he’s always believed education was the only way. … Because they can’t take your grades away. They could tell you not to play sports. They could tell you, ‘You can’t do this and that.’ But they couldn’t tell you not to be smart.” “People frowned upon my parents, being black and Asian. My dad’s parents didn’t want him to marry her..I mean, my dad loved America when a lot of America didn’t love him, and never complained about it.”
Micheal Yo left home to attend the University of Arkansas, enjoying his student days and playing football for the Razorbacks before going back to Houston to work as a radio station intern at KRBE/104.1 FM. After living at home and working for free for a year, he was offered a permanent position on the night shift. Other radio jobs in the Houston area followed before Micheal Yo made his moved to Austin to be a radio-station music director. Next followed a relocation to Miami where Micheal Yo bagged himself a job as a DJ for the leading contemporary-hits station Y100. Whilst there, he was also approached to coach Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian to be radio DJs for their show “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami.”
But it was his exposure on Chelsea Handler’s TV show “Chelsea Lately” and his Sirius XM radio show that led to a number of people suggesting he try the world of stand-up. He told the Houston Chronicle – “I went on stage for the first time at the Miami Improv. Instead of three minutes, I did 15 minutes just talking about my family. That rush, that feeling. I got off the stage, I called my mom, I was like, ‘This is what I was born to do.’ I love stand-up comedy.”
Micheal Yo talks openly about the support and encouragement he gained in stand up through his friend, fellow comedian Jo Koy. He told HalfKorean.com – “Jo Koy has been my mentor through the whole thing. He’s like the guy that sat me down and said this is how you do it. I’ve known Jo for a while and he told me that I had great stories about my parents and that is where comedy comes from, real life. Not about people writing jokes but what really happened in your life. Growing up in the situation I am from, that is automatic comedy…
It’s just fun to be on stage. It’s natural because I was never nervous. I was used to being on radio and then I was on TV for a good four years or so before I tried stand-up…I relax when I’m doing stand-up. Usually when I go to a city to do stand-up, I’ll go take a tour of their city. Really, it is like a vacation because to me performing is fun.”
Get More Michael Yo
Want more of Michael Yo? You’re in luck – his full stand-up comedy special is available to watch on NextUp – a digital comedy club where you can stream instantly over 120 comedy specials from some of the exciting names in comedy. Oh, and there’s a 7 day free trial.