Fans react to Frank Ocean’s drama-filled Coachella set

The reclusive singer returned to the stage for the first time since 2017.

After six years away, Frank Ocean finally returned to the live stage, closing out the first weekend of Coachella 2023. But this is Ocean, after all, and it’s safe to say things went far from smoothly. 

Fans eagerly awaited the reclusive singer’s set, which was initially announced to appear on Coachella’s live stream on YouTube. Yet, it was removed from the schedule just hours before the set – leaving fans questioning whether Ocean would turn up at all. 

Eventually, it was confirmed Ocean’s set would be going ahead as planned; there would just be no live stream to accompany it (a collective sigh of relief could be felt across Twitter). However, the drama wasn’t over yet. The star turned up an hour late, and once again, fans weren’t impressed.

After a painstaking wait, Ocean’s headlining set finally kicked off with ‘Novacane,’ followed by his Blonded Radio release, ‘Come On World, You Can’t Go!,’ ‘Crack Rock,’ ‘Bad Religion’ and ‘White Ferrari.’ 

After ‘White Ferrari’, Ocean thanked his fans and explained why he was at Coachella. “It’s been so long, but I have missed you. I wanna talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album – not that there’s not an album, but there’s not right now.”

He shared that he used to attend Coachella with his brother before his passing, saying one of his fondest memories was watching Rae Sremmurd with his brother. “I know he would have been so excited to be with all of us, and I wanted to say thank you for all the support and the love all these years,” Ocean said. Ocean’s brother, Ryan Breaux, died in 2020 in a car crash.

Following his short speech, Ocean continued performing with ‘Pink + White,’ ‘Solo,’ ‘Chanel,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Slide,’ ‘Provider,’ ‘In My Room,’ ‘No Church In The Wild’ and ‘Godspeed’. He also debuted two new tracks.

After covering Aaliyah’s ‘At Your Best (You Are Love),’ Frank Ocean informed the crowd that the festival had hit its curfew limit and had to end his set. Those in attendance were heard chanting “We want Frank” well after his set had ended in hopes of a return from music’s most mysterious figure, which sadly never came. Let’s all hope his performance next weekend runs a little more smoothly.

Scroll below for the best reactions to Ocean’s first live performance since 2017.

Writer
Chris Saunders
Banner Image Credit
Instagram / Homer