Japanese Breakfast on learning to “appreciate” her late mother’s criticism
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast has revealed that she has grown and evolved to “appreciate” the lack of support she received for her career from her late mother, concluding that it made her into the artist she is today.
The Philadelphia vocalist discussed her turbulent relationship with her mother in a new interview on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend. She asserted that she believes the adversity she faced fuelled her to strive for success with Japanese Breakfast. Her mother, Chongmi, died of pancreatic cancer in October 2014.
Asked if her complex relationship with her mother acted as a catalyst for creativity, Zauner said: “I think, if anything, […] it really affirmed how badly I wanted it. It’s almost like, if your parents are like, ‘Oh great, yeah, go be an artist’, you almost don’t want it anymore. Her being so adverse to me following that path […] made me so much more drawn to it.”
She added: “That’s a big reason why I’m still doing it, in a way. I was told no many many times, for many years”.
Zauner continued: “I had a very embarrassing career for like ten years, sleeping on floors strewn with cat poop… Now that I look back at that, it’s like, ‘that’s exactly why you are the way that you are’. I guess she was setting me up for the rest of the world to do that too… I kind of appreciate that now.”
On Monday, March 13th, O’Brien took to Twitter to announce his love for Zauner and Japanese Breakfast. He wrote: “I saw Japanese Breakfast perform at Coachella last year and have been obsessed with them ever since.”
Zauner released her memoir, Crying In H Mart, which details her relationship with her parents and how it fuelled her work in more detail.
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