The Frank Fiasco
Coachella should have been a triumphant homecoming for Frank Ocean, the most enigmatic figure in hip-hop as of late. After all, fans had waited long enough. Ocean had intended to perform at the event in 2020, marking his comeback to music after a lengthy hiatus. However, after a family tragedy and the impact of the pandemic, he ultimately joined the event’s 2023 lineup as the Sunday headliner, alongside Puerto Rican reggaeton sensation Bad Bunny and K-pop stars Blackpink. The stakes were unsurprisingly sky-high.
Over a decade after the initial release of his critically acclaimed first album Channel Orange, and seven year since the simultaneous releases of Endless and Blonde, Ocean is still held in high reverence. This level of commitment is remarkable in a mercurial music industry where fans are constantly bombarded with new releases – especially considering how infrequently Ocean communicates with his followers. He’s a virtual hermit, except for the occasional episode of Blonded Radio, his Apple Music show. However, his rejection of celebrity has become part of his allure; to be a Frank Ocean fan is to be perpetually perplexed, while maintaining that whatever comes next will be worth the wait.
Frank fans everywhere were anticipating his Sunday night set, from die-hard fans who travelled to the hot Californian desert to the rest of his fans all around the world waiting on the festival’s live-stream. What a letdown, then, when reality fell well short of what was promised. The festival announced just a couple of hours before his performance that the set would not be live-streamed. With Ocean coming across as careless and unprepared, and enthusiastic admirers leaving disappointed, what was the point of his performance in the first place? Many had presumed that Frank would be debuting a new album at Coachella – why else would he come out of years of hiding to perform on such a big stage at such a big festival if he did not have something to promote? It would make perfect sense – and that’s exactly why it didn’t happen. Being a Frank Ocean fan, nothing is straightforward. His musical output is tantalisingly sporadic, and his personality remains entirely enigmatic. As a fan of his, you have to embrace the chaos.
His actual performance was immediately off to a shaky start. Despite Coachella’s stringent curfew, the 35-year-old was an hour late onstage. The apparent cause of the hold-up was his last-minute decision to cancel an on-stage ice rink, as well as the 120 performers who were to skate over it during his performance – staff had to work feverishly backstage to melt the ice. But none of this was expressed to the fans who were left in dark. Ocean finally emerged, but with a skeletal set design, no dramatic lighting effects and a clear lack of enthusiasm.
Overall, his performance was nothing short of a total disappointment. Fleeting glimpses of his greatness came during live renditions of ‘White Ferrari’, executed with a techno twist and a cover of the Isley Brothers’ ballad ‘(At Your Best) You Are Love’, from his 2016 visual album Endless. The overwhelming mood, though, seemed to be one of bewilderment and dismay. Transitions between songs were awkwardly non-existent, plunging the set into silence at the end of each hit. The redundant ice skaters were instructed to walk in circles at the back of the stage as music played, which looked messy and amateurish. Frank seemed to give Rihanna a run for her money with his lip-syncing skills (or lack thereof), and during some of his best hits, he danced around the stage with no mic in hand, despite purportedly being injured. Everything looked shambolically slap-dash and thrown together last-minute. The set slammed to a halt, with Frank smirking as he announced, “That’s the end of the show”. Just a couple of days later, Frank cancelled his weekend two performance, being replaced by Blink-182 and a DJ set from Skrillex, Fred Again and Four Tet.
It’s important to recognise that Ocean has had a turbulent few years. Ryan Breaux, his 18-year-old brother, was killed in a vehicle accident in 2020. He told supporters that his comeback to Coachella was partly a memorial to his late brother, since they used to enjoy the festival together. His grief might have contributed to his lack of energy, and his ankle injury will very certainly have given him some physical discomfort. But to quote an American-ism, “Shit happens”. Frank’s ankle was injured days before Coachella, most likely before any soundchecks or final rehearsals. He should have cancelled his performance and been fully transparent with fans about the unfortunate circumstances. Instead, he knowingly gave a half-hearted performance and still took home $4 million for his set, which was due to be $8 million, including weekend two.
Artists can’t survive on sheer dedication forever, and mystique is destroyed when fans are repeatedly disappointed. In this turbulent economy, testing fans who have invested hundreds of dollars on festival tickets appears to be a very dangerous decision. Not every Coachella attendee will have been one of the obscenely “Super Rich Kids” that Frank sang about on Channel Orange. They paid good money to see him; he has an obligation to keep his half of the deal by putting on a good performance. Fans have been known to want their favourite performers to achieve impossible levels of perfection. But the bare minimum for any artist who wants to retain a degree of devotion from the people who purchase your songs, wear your extortionately priced merchandise, and save all year just to see you in person is a degree of effort, and the tiniest sign of caring for your audience.
This will not be the undoing of Frank Ocean; many will continue to believe he can do no wrong. But it was a disaster that might have easily been prevented if he’d just cancelled. He’s far too talented to be overshadowed by one bad performance, but it’s the principle of how he acted that has rubbed people up the wrong way. I just hope that he can provide a performance worthy of his near-mythical position the next time he takes the stage, and a very, very large paycheck.
