Artist · chart history
Japanese Breakfast
Band Philadelphia United States Formed 2013 Michelle Zauner's solo project and band
Japanese Breakfast formed in 2013 in Philadelphia, United States. Japanese Breakfast has 56 chart appearances on 38 radio countdowns from 20 stations on RockLists, spanning 2021–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Be Sweet”, which appears on 22 lists with a best position of #2. The station that charted Japanese Breakfast most often is The Colorado Sound (Fort Collins–Denver, CO), with 9 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2021.
Japanese Breakfast began in Philadelphia in 2013 as a side project for Michelle Zauner, who was fronting the emo band Little Big League at the time. She named it after a GIF of the meal, figuring the phrase would sound exotic to American ears. Then life intervened: in 2014 she went home to Eugene, Oregon, to look after her mother, and the songs she wrote to cope with the stress, and then with grief after her mother died, became the debut, Psychopomp, in 2016.
Soft Sounds from Another Planet followed on Dead Oceans in 2017, but Jubilee, in 2021, is the big swing: a joyous, full-color pop record that sounds like someone throwing the windows open after a long winter. "Be Sweet" is pure sugar, "Paprika" marches in like a parade, and "Slide Tackle" struts. It got Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist. Zauner sings, plays guitar and writes the songs, backed by Peter Bradley, Deven Craige, Craig Hendrix, violinist Lauren Baba and saxophonist Adam Schatz.
For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) arrived in 2025, with "Picture Window" among its songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Japanese Breakfast on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Be Sweet | 22 | #2 | – | 2021 | |
| 2 | Paprika | 9 | #13 | – | 2021 | |
| 3 | Picture Window | 8 | #23 | – | 2025 | |
| 4 | Slide Tackle | 6 | #6 | – | 2022 | |
| 5 | Orlando in Love | 4 | #28 | – | 2025 | |
| 6 | Tactics | 1 | #211 | – | – | |
| 7 | Diving Women | 1 | #444 | – | – | |
| 8 | Say It Ain't So | 1 | #585 | – | – | |
| 9 | Savage Good Boy | 1 | #63 | – | 2021 | |
| 10 | Honey Water | 1 | #213 | – | 2025 | |
| 11 | Skinny Love | 1 | #680 | – | – | |
| 12 | Head Over Heels | 1 | #705 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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