On January 10, Coachella announced its lineup for its spring festival in Indio, California, and to much of social media’s surprise, the Sunday headliner for the two weekend-long event was Frank Ocean.
In past years, Coachella’s headliners have consisted of big names like Beyonce, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Harry Styles, Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, and so many more talented artists. Frank Ocean’s name on Coachella’s Instagram flier for its annual festival brought tears of joy to many (literally and metaphorically).
Why was this announcement such a big deal for pop and R&B listeners everywhere? Coachella’s lineup meant that Frank Ocean was back.
While he’s appeared in work for other artists, his most recent feature work includes his 2018 feature on “Purity” from A$AP Rocky’s TESTING, and before then, his 2017 appearances on Calvin Harris’s “Slide”, Jay-Z’s “Caught Their Eyes”, and multiple songs off of Tyler, the Creator’s Flower Boy album.
Ocean hasn’t released his own independent music since 2020 (his “Cayendo” and “Dear April” acoustic singles), his own non-acoustic single since 2019 (“In My Room”), and his own album since Blonde in 2016.
Outside of his recent features, Frank Ocean hasn’t done a lot within the public eye. In October 2016, he attended a White House state dinner; in February 2017, he launched Blonded radio; in August of 2021, he launched his Homer jewelry collection; in 2022, he was rumored to be preparing to direct a feature film with A24 and 2AM (according to Paper magazine); and most recently, in January of this year, he was announced to be one of Coachella’s headliners.
Ocean has stayed out of music production for almost three years now and people are still wondering when he’s going to release anything new. Many people are especially wondering where he’s been these past couple of years, why he hasn’t made new music, and if he’s going to make new music in the future. All of these questions have not been easily answered by the media in the past couple of years, but some say Ocean has been struggling with grief that’s caused his hiatus from media-making.
In August 2020, Frank Ocean’s 18-year-old brother Ryan passed away from a tragic car accident in Los Angeles where he and a friend were pronounced dead on the scene. Despite their 14-year age gap, Frank and Ryan were undeniably close. Ocean’s “Orion” and “Futura Free” are just two songs within Ocean’s discography that feature musical hints dedicated to Ryan. While it was never confirmed, many listeners were sure that Ocean’s hiatus was prolonged by the loss of his brother, and they sympathized with him.
In the meantime, listeners have been reviving some of his earlier discography like Channel Orange, and living off of the singles that he’s released since 2017. Additionally, there’s been a major appreciation of his works from 2008 and 2011 like “Miss you so”, “Lovecrimes”, “No love”, and more from Nostalgia, Ultra and Lonny Breaux (which are since inaccessible on major streaming platforms due to lawsuits between the Eagles for Frank’s sample of their “Hotel California” on his “American Wedding” and further conflicts between the band and R&B artist).
The announcement of Frank’s headlining Coachella was a big deal because it indicated that Frank was finally back. His performance means the inevitable release of new music, potentially new merch, and even live concerts in the works. But this announcement also has fans now wondering if he’ll pull a Rihanna and perform his existing discography instead of releasing new music ahead of his awaited performance. While the world would be eternally grateful for both, fans are hoping for a new era of Frank music to appreciate.
We just know that the world is beyond ready for Frank’s return and we can’t wait to welcome him to the entertainment world with open arms.