Frank Ocean is a Grammy-award-winning singer and songwriter who was meant to headline the Coachella music festival in 2020 before it was unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. Ocean is known for his mysterious persona and the complexity of his music. His album channel ORANGE, released in 2012, won a Grammy award and was followed in 2016 by his album Blonde. Since then, Ocean has not released another album which has kept fans on the edge of their seats. Ocean is a celebrity that prefers to keep the majority of his life private and is not often heard from, his last live performance being six years ago. When Coachella announced that he would be headlining for Coachella 2023, fans went wild for the chance to see his return, and tickets sold out in just three hours, even with prices skyrocketing.
The performance took place on April 16, the final day of Coachella’s first weekend. It began with some confusion surrounding the stage setup, a late start, and ended with an abrupt finish. With an intimate and stripped ambiance, an emotional tribute to his late brother, and a surprising rave intermission, fans had mixed emotions about the long-awaited performance. Fans were also shocked to learn that the artist suffered an injury on site leading to two leg fractures and a sprain to his left leg inhibiting his performance. Many celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco, have voiced their support for Frank Ocean’s undeniable talent and artistry. Blanco recalled it to be “Inspiring … One of [his] favorite shows [he] had ever seen.” A highlight according to many attendees was the emotional performance of an alternate version of “White Ferrari” that reimagined the song featured on Ocean’s 2016 record Blonde. With all of the surprise and chaos, Frank Ocean dropped out of the following weekend of Coachella, soon to be replaced by Fred Again, Skrillex, and FourTet.
Many University of Oregon students ventured out to the desert to experience this one-of-a-kind festival and came back with unique thoughts on the weekend, especially Frank Ocean’s performance. One festivalgoer, Jac Noland, spoke of her experience at his set saying, “In contrast to many other people who saw Frank Ocean’s performance I loved it. I can understand how you could have been disappointed because he did not sing some of his hits like ‘Lost,’ but I valued the stripped performance. Being a headliner takes on a lot of pressure and maybe he could have been better prepared for it. During his performance, I couldn’t be negative because I was so thankful to be there in his presence with my best friends.” Through the controversy surrounding the performance and flooding messages on social media, many attendees saw the many positives and recounted positivity. Another University of Oregon student reflected on his experience. Aurelio Valencia said, “Frank Ocean’s set at Coachella was the most emotional and memorable part of the weekend. I went into the set with the expectation that I would hear and see Frank’s artistic vision and that’s exactly what he delivered.” Amidst the chaos of injuries, set up and more it is clear that attendees still felt connected with the headliners’ creative talent. With the media wildfire surrounding Ocean’s Coachella performance, many fans remain inspired by the performer and hope to see more from him soon.