Tonight marked the Saturday Night Live finale, and that allowed Japanese Breakfast to have some time in the spotlight as the musical guest.

What makes this choice by Lorne Michaels and the producers so interesting is that for a lot of people, tonight’s episode may be an introduction to the pop group led by Michelle Zauner. The opening song tonight was “Be Sweet,” which is a new track released earlier this year. Almost immediately, it was clear why the show chose them for the finale. The music is by and large upbeat, and we think the show was going for a fun, celebratory atmosphere tonight. In addition to it being Natasha Lyonne’s debut as host, it was also the farewell show for a number of cast members.

The thing that stood out most to us as a viewers was how enthused Zauner seemed to be performing on the stage. In general, we love our hosts and musical guest who really understand the significance of being on the show. Also, people who totally go for it! This opening performance was fun and infectious, and we can’t ask for anything more as someone who wasn’t super-familiar with the band’s work entering the show tonight.

As for the second song … This was one that was a little bit slower, but also appropriate for where it was in the night. There was a sadness to the end of the show tonight, which makes some sense given the goodbyes we watched throughout the night.

“Paprika” is certainly one of the more unique songs that we’ve heard on the show over the years, especially when it comes to the instrumentation. There were horns, keyboards, and even a gong during the chorus.

Related – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to Saturday Night Live, including what we had to say about some cast departures

What did you think about the performance by Japanese Breakfast on Saturday Night Live tonight?

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