Michelle Zauner isn’t afraid to say no anymore

Q with Tom Power

In 2021, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner got everything she’d ever wanted: her memoir “Crying in H Mart” became a surprise New York Times bestseller, and her band’s breakthrough album “Jubilee” received multiple Grammy nominations. But all of that success came at the cost of her mental and physical health, so she moved to Seoul to regroup. Now, Japanese Breakfast is back with a new album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women),” which explores that time in Michelle’s life. She sits down with Tom Power to talk about the grief that shaped her, the moment she realized she needed to walk away from it all, and how moving to Seoul helped her find her voice again.