Be Sweet

"Be Sweet" is a song by American indie pop band Japanese Breakfast, released on March 2, 2021, as the lead single from their third studio album Jubilee.

Zauner's bandmate, Craig Hendrix, encouraged her to compose arrangements for Jubilee; the two of them, along with Tatum, worked on the track's production.

Though the band's work previously dealt with Zauner's personal struggles with grief, "Be Sweet" saw them divert from their usual indie rock sound and lean more into a pop direction.

The band would release various alternative and cover versions of the song, while also performing it frequently at festivals and on television late night and talk shows.

Japanese Breakfast's first two studio albums, Psychopomp (2016) and Soft Sounds from Another Planet (2017) were recognized by music critics and listeners for reflecting the personal grief of lead singer Michelle Zauner.

[n 1] In his review of Jubilee, Will Richards of NME praised "Be Sweet", calling it "a superbly catchy, '80s-indebted pop smash" with a "triumphant chorus.

"[17] Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork wrote that "Be Sweet" is a "touch of pop extravagance à la Kate Bush, one of Zauner's main influences; the extended, windswept indie-guitar-hero moment we've come to expect in the genre, that feels somehow indebted to Nels Cline.

"[1] She felt that the song "rattles with energy, trading previous influences like shoegaze and Pacific Northwest indie rock for danceable '80s synth-pop.

"[1] Japanese Breakfast performed "Be Sweet" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2021, shortly after the single's release.

[20] Coinciding with the album's release in June 2021, the band performed "Be Sweet", as well as "Kokomo, IN" and "Tactics" on CBS This Morning's "Saturday Sessions" segment.

[29] The persimmon-flavored beer was made in collaboration with Goose Island; persimmons served as the main visual motif for Jubilee and featured prominently on the album's cover art.

[29] The beer's proceeds benefited Heart of Dinner, an organization that aims to combat food insecurity within New York's elderly Asian American community.

[1][10] The Simlish cover version released a music video, featuring Zauner singing to a herd of cows while dressed in gingham and a big sunhat.