- You are so cute.
- Thank you. (audience applauding)
Thank you. - Oh my gosh.
Congratulations on the Grammy noms.
- Thank you very much.
- That's very exciting.
It is not about the awards which is validating to know
that people are like into what you're doing.
- It is very validating.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So your musical name is Japanese Breakfast and I'm,
please tell me that like every time someone asks you,
why did you name that,
you make up a different story every time
'cause that would be really funny.
- (laughs) Yeah, it doesn't have the best story.
- Oh!
- I was in another band that was very unpopular
and I had kind of this side project
that I was putting songs up on Tumblr at the time.
- Yeah.
- And I just called it Japanese Breakfast
'cause I was weirdly following all of these animated gifts
of Japanese Breakfast, and it just seemed really appealing.
And that's what I named
the project. - That's not a boring story.
That's funny.
- Yeah, yeah.
- It's something you liked. - Yeah.
- And it's something that you don't forget.
When you hear that name,
like I will forever remember that title.
- I feel like it makes people wonder
what exactly a Japanese breakfast is, and it's--
- And then, why do I want one all a sudden.
- Yes, yes.
And then it's a very surprising
very appealing group of foods.
- I'm into it.
(Michelle laughs)
Okay, so rumor has it that you were with Doja Cat
when she was in the restroom before when she was supposed
to be winning her award when she ran out.
- I wasn't with her, but I was like in the--
- Rumor has it
you were peeing in the stall. - In the bathroom.
- No, that y'all were in the restroom, sorry.
- I had just like finished peeing and she came in.
And I was like, oh my God, maybe I can like, hang out
and get a like bathroom selfie with Doja Cat.
And then I was kind of like,
that's really weird to wait for her,
like outside of the bathroom.
(audience laughing) - Bathroom.
- So then I was like, I'll just go out into the hall
and try to get a snack and wait for her to come out,
and then I'll get a photo with her.
- Yeah.
- And then someone-- - That's respectful.
- Yes, yeah.
Give her her time and space.
- Yes.
- And then someone came running by and was like,
"Doja Cat, Doja Cat, Doja Cat!"
And she ran into the bathroom
and then just started pulling her out by the wrist
to go back in.
And they had all of us in the holding
'cause the commercial break was over
and she had just won her Grammy.
And so she like, they like flew her in,
her dress flew up and exposed her (laughs).
- Everything.
- Yeah, and then I found out later that she won the Grammy
but I was like in holding--
- You didn't gey your pictures.
- I didn't get my picture.
She got her Grammy though.
- See now, that was the sad story.
That wasn't about the Japanese Breakfast.
That's sad. - Yeah, yeah.
- You're gonna get it.
- And I'm proud of her.
- We're gonna make this happen.
Oh my gosh, me too.
I love her. - A big fan, yeah.
- Yeah, she's very talented.
And if anybody's gonna be showing anybody, she is amazing.
I'm like, wow, you work hard for that ma'am.
So your memoir is called "Crying in H Mart."
So it's about your mom, right?
- Yeah.
And is H Mart a place obviously?
- Yeah, so despite the name Japanese Breakfast,
my mom was Korean and so I'm half Korean, half white.
And H Mart is a supermarket chain
known for selling Korean groceries.
- Yeah.
- And so in 2014, unfortunately my mom passed away of cancer
and I lived in Eugene for six months as a caretaker
when she was going through chemotherapy.
- Yeah.
- So the book kind of documents that process.
And part of my grieving process sort of landed
on learning how to cook Korean dishes.
And so every time I went to this Korean grocery store,
H Mart, I would see like a package of seaweed
and I would be like, well, I can't call my mom anymore
to ask what brand of seaweed we used to buy.
- Oh! - Or I would see like,
a can of sweet red beans, and I would remember
we'd used to have this shaved ice dessert in the summers
every time we visited Seoul and so,
I would cry in H Mart.
And the book is about learning how to cook Korean dishes
and kind of preserve that part of my culture
after she passed away.
(audience applauding) - That's really cool.
And then she's still kinda with you.
- Yeah, I mean--
- I think that's beautiful.
- Yes, it is.
Yeah, yeah.
- That she's still kind of with you in that sense.
That's awesome.
- Yeah.
- So you're performing your song, it's "Be Sweet,"
and that's up next and I'm very excited about.
So what's the song about, other than you should be sweet?
- Yeah, I mean, in simple terms
it's basically please just be nice to me.
(both laughing) - Yeah.
- I wrote that song in 2018 with someone named Jack Tatum
who plays in a band called Wild Nothing.
So we got together in his studio and we were like,
well I guess like, we should just write a pop song
and like try to sell it to like a pop star.
- Yeah.
- Like Kelly Clarkson or something.
- Okay.
- And then I just liked it so much that I kept it,
and I feel like it's a very, it's like a diva bomb.
- That worked out.
- Yes, it worked out.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- Well, once again, Michelle's book
is called "Crying in H Mart."
You gotta check it out, it's 40 weeks, congratulations.
- Thank you.
- New York Times best seller, that's amazing.