Frank Ocean’s 2023 Coachella show was his first live performance since 2017 and fans had VERY mixed reviews.
Ocean was set to headline Coachella’s 2020 festival, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. The Coachella setlist for 2023 was released in January and it just about broke the internet because Frank Ocean was chosen as the Sunday headliner.
Ocean has not performed in nearly six years and has not put out a new album since Blonde in 2016. So, let’s recap exactly what went down and why it has fans so confused.
Right before his set time, it was at first rumored that he was not going to perform because YouTube announced that his performance would not be live-streamed, unlike other artists (which was of course proven to be false, as Ocean did go on stage). His set was scheduled to start at 10:05 p.m. but he did not make it to the stage until nearly an hour later. He started his performance with his song “Novacane” which was the song that blew up his music career and the crowd was pleasantly surprised. Halfway through the song the beat switched into what fans said were “creepy” and “cult-like” sounds and visuals of shadows of men were included in the set. When he continued to sing, fans stated that he was allegedly stumbling on his words and forgot his lyrics. He proceeded to sing somewhat altered versions of some of his other well-known songs like “Bad Religion,” “Crack Rock,” and “White Ferrari.” After the buzzing of confusion from the crowd, Frank then had a heartwarming moment with his fans, thanking them and saying that it has been so long and that he has missed them. Frank Ocean then met fans with a speech exclaiming that he headlined Coachella to honor his late brother (they both would attend the music festival together).
One of the rumored reasons why Ocean’s set was confusing for some was the passing of his brother Ryan.
During his speech, he confusedly teased that he might be releasing another album just not anytime soon. Fans were allegedly confused and upset as to why he did not play some of his most popular songs like “Ivy” or “Thinkin About You.” During his performance, many people exclaimed that it was hard to see Ocean because he would turn around, so his back faced the audience. Another affliction from the audience was that Ocean was allegedly lip-synching his songs (without even holding a microphone) while the music played in the background.
As the set continued, the confusion only grew because Ocean played a series of new songs, none of which sounded anything like his previous music. They were avant-garde and featured strange soundscapes. Fans were unsure of how to react, some standing in stunned silence, while others fully embraced the performance. At one point, Frank Ocean brought out a group of dancers dressed in white, who performed an interpretive dance routine. Ocean was rumored to have wanted a set where people were ice skating as part of the performance, and the dancers present were allegedly going to be a part of that avant-garde exposition. There were many other interesting instances such as Ocean bringing out a piano player to perform what represented his “inner child” and DJ Crystalmess coming out to perform a ten-minute EDM remix of his songs while Frank Ocean took a ten-minute hiatus from the show. He ended the night with an abrupt statement saying “Guys, I’m being told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show. Thank you so much,”, at 12:20 a.m. due to Coachella’s midnight curfew policy for Sunday sets.
Rumors started circulating that Coachella’s weekend two set was going to be nothing short of confusing as well. That quickly got shot down when Ocean’s representatives stated that he was unable to perform for Coachella weekend two due to “two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”
His representative then stated that Ocean said “It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”
It is safe to say fans were left utterly baffled by his show. In the end, whether you loved or hated Frank Ocean’s Coachella set, there’s no denying that it was a bold and challenging performance.
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