Japanese Breakfast’s Jubilee has been out for over a year now, but the creative force that is Michelle Zauner has kept her foot firmly of the gas ever since. Zauner and Japanese Breakfast have become a face for Asian-Americans not just in indie music, but also in pop culture as a whole. Zauner’s bestselling book, Crying In H Mart, documented how she bonded with her mother over Korean cooking, and how their connection through food carried her emotionally as she cared for her mother in the last days of her life. The press tours surrounding the bestselling book have been never-ending for Zauner and today, the new Korean version “Be Sweet,” Jubilee’s lead single represents a full circle moment on this non-stop past year for Japanese Breakfast.
The version features So Yoon, of South Korean indie band Se So Neon, on vocals along with Zauner, and the result instantly feels like it was written this way to begin with. It’ll surely play well with the crowd at next month’s Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival in South Korea where Japanese Breakfast will be performing.
Zauner explained in a statement that Korean-American superstar DJ/producer Yaeji helped her shape the version as well, saying, “We thought it would be fun to put out a special Korean version of ‘Be Sweet’ preceding our upcoming performance in Seoul. I’m very grateful Yaeji helped me with the translation over a year ago. So!YoON! is one of my favorite indie artists in Seoul right now and I’m so happy we got to collab.”
Listen to Japanese Breakfast’s “Be Sweet (Korean Version)” above.
