Yesterday (April 16), Frank Ocean headlined the final day of Coachella’s first weekend. It was a highly anticipated performance, but for a number of reasons, it did not go well at all. One attendee summarized, “I’ve never seen so many people walk out of a show so upset and confused. The amount of anticipation for this was extremely high, and I don’t think anyone was satisfied. Not even the diehard fans.”
If there was one silver lining to be had, though, it was that Ocean spoke about his next album.
At one point during the set, he took a couple minutes to give a short speech, which he started, “It’s been so long, but I have missed you. I want to talk about why I’m here, because it’s not because of a new album. It’s because… not that there’s not a new album, just like… but there’s not right now.”
A new album would certainly be a big deal, as Ocean hasn’t released one since 2016’s Blonde, which topped the charts and was one of the year’s most acclaimed projects.
Back to Ocean’s speech: He went on to speak about how his life “changed so much” over the past few years following the 2020 death of his brother, Ryan Breaux, and about how much Coachella meant to them both and the memories he had of attending the fest with Breaux. He also thanked fans for their support over the years before resuming his set.
Per setlist.fm, Frank Ocean performed at Finland’s Flow Festival in August 2017. Until this weekend, that was his most recent live show, but now, nearly six years later, Ocean returned to the stage yesterday (April 16) to headline Coachella. It… did not go well.
Even before Ocean took the stage, things weren’t looking good. It was revealed that his performance would not be livestreamed online, unlike the majority of other Coachella sets this year. Then, Ocean only started performing an hour after his set was supposed to begin, meaning he only ended up starting the show at around 11 p.m. PT. Given that, as the Coachella website notes, there was a midnight venue curfew on Sunday, Ocean’s set ended up having to be cut short. As setlist.fm notes, the set features 14 actual performances and a lot of other pre-recorded songs, mostly remixes, played over the speakers.
As for when the show was actually going on, people weren’t happy. Rolling Stone‘s Tomás Mier summarized his take on the situation, tweeting, “No, I didn’t enjoy Frank Ocean’s set. It was confusing. It was odd. it was not a Coachella headliner-worthy performance. I didn’t understand it. Maybe it wasn’t made for me to understand. Idk. I have more questions than I do answers. I’ve never seen so many people walk out of a show so upset and confused. The amount of anticipation for this was extremely high, and I don’t think anyone was satisfied. Not even the diehard fans. (And if you weren’t there… don’t talk lol.)
No, I didn’t enjoy Frank Ocean’s set. It was confusing. It was odd. it was not a Coachella headliner-worthy performance. I didn’t understand it. Maybe it wasn’t made for me to understand. Idk. I have more questions than I do answers.
I’ve never seen so many people walk out of a show so upset and confused. The amount of anticipation for this was extremely high, and I don’t think anyone was satisfied. Not even the diehard fans. (And if you weren’t there… don’t talk lol.)
While fans online felt the FOMO after learning Frank Ocean’s Coachella headlining set would not be livestreamed on the festival’s YouTube channel, fans in attendance worried he might not perform at all after an hour passed with no sign of the singer.
Sure, he’s pretty elusive and mysterious, but waiting over an hour had fans feeling antsy. Fortunately, he opened his set with a fan favorite that got the crowd back on his side: “Novacane,” his breakout single from the 2011 mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra.
After playing “Novacane,” he followed up with “Crack Rock,” “Bad Religion,” and “White Ferrari” before sharing his favorite Coachella memories with the assembled crowd, including catching Rae Sremmurd and Travis Scott. Although he admitted he didn’t like coming to the desert — thanks in part to a tendency to get respiratory infections from the flying dust — he thanked fans for coming out to see him after so long. His last Coachella appearance was over 10 years ago, in 2012.
Since the avant-garde R&B experimentalist released two studio albums, Channel Orange and Blonde, as well as a visual project, Endless. However, he’s been a scarce presence on festival stages and hasn’t toured much; before being booked to headline the canceled 2020 edition of Coachella, he hosted a series of DJ events in 2019 where he shared some of his first new music in years.
Speaking of new music, during his speech at Coachella, he cleared the air about that; he did not take the gig to promote a new project, although he said one is in the works.
Coachella has been one of the pioneer festivals when it comes to streaming its performances online but at the end of weekend one, fans were aghast to learn that one of the most anticipated sets wouldn’t be available on the festival’s YouTube live stream, just hours before the headlining set began.
Frank Ocean hasn’t performed live in… well, probably half a decade, outside of a few sporadic DJ sets. Fans were naturally psyched up to see him hit the stage in Indio, but then, it was announced by the YouTube Twitter account that “Frank Ocean is not scheduled to appear on the Coachella live stream” and unsurprisingly, all hell broke loose.
Frank Ocean is not scheduled to appear on the Coachella livestream. The current schedule is in the description → https://t.co/oweGcgaTZs
When is frank ocean gonna stop the anonymous game, you’re not underground artist. we all know what you look and smell like and know your favorite color
It makes sense that fans would be … shall we say “a bit out of sorts” over the news. The last time the elusive artist performed at the festival was in 2012, when he was accompanied onstage by BadBadNotGood as his backing band and performed such standouts from his catalog as “Novacane” and “Swim Good” from his breakout mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra before his critically-acclaimed debut album Channel Orange had hit the shelves.
coachella security trying to stop people from live-streaming frank ocean’s set pic.twitter.com/bKqqcEleBt
Since then, he’s only released one other album, 2016’s equally warmly received Blonde, as well as the visual project Endless. There has been some speculation that he would be performing new songs from a rumored follow-up to Blonde or singing Nostalgia, Ultra in its entirety before releasing it on streaming, but even if neither were true, it’d be his first chance to perform either of his studio albums at Coachella — and many fans’ first chance to see him play, since his original headlining set was canceled in 2020 and he rarely performs live.
Now, it seems that those fans who weren’t able to make it to the festival in person will be feeling even more FOMO. This one just about sums up the general feeling on Twitter:
Tyler The Creator made a surprise appearance during his friend Kali Uchis’s Coachella set, where the pair of frequent collaborators reunited to perform their 2017 hit “See You Again.”
Kali had previously joined Tyler The Creator on his Call Me If You Get Lost tour after contributing to “See You Again” from his Grammy-nominated album Flower Boy. They reunited in 2018 for “After the Storm” from Uchis’ album Isolation.
Meanwhile, Apollo and Uchis first teamed up in 2020 on Apollo’s Apolonio single “Hey Boy.” They collaborated again in 2021 for “Bad Life” from Omar’s follow-up album Ivory, which dropped last year. “Worth The Wait” appears on Kali Uchis’s recently released album Red Moon In Venus.
Interestingly, Uchis was one of the surprise performers for another Coachella set. On Friday night, Kaytranada’s set included surprise appearances from Uchis, who performed their 2019 Bubba collaboration “10%” — which they premiered at that year’s Coachella — and Aminé, with whom Kaytranada is releasing their joint album Kaytraminé later this spring.
The closing day of Coachella’s first weekend is getting ready to begin. With Frank Ocean making his epic return as the evening’s headliner, tens of thousands of avid music lovers have made the Empire Polo Ground their temporary home. Many opening acts and first-time performers are taking advantage of all the eyes on them both in-person and via the festival’s YouTube stream. Indie pop band Muna debuted a new song during their set, and so did the Swamp Princess herself, Doechii.
Always listening intently to what fans want, the rapper gave fans a taste of what new music she has slated to come down the pipeline. In video footage captured by our very own Cherise Johnson, Doechii teases pieces of a new song. The high-energy track blends together punk and rap elements, making it the perfect rager ready to dominate the mosh pit track.
“That’s it! Just a little taste,” as she cues her DJ to end the track. “And that song is called ‘Pacer,’” declares the musician.
Doechii also carved out a moment during her Coachella set to pay homage to Beyoncé rapping her song, “Heated,” which was featured on her record-breaking album Renaissance.
View Doechii’s entire Coachella set list on Friday (April 14), according to Setlist.fm below.
“Did you notice the wind stop?” Blackpink’s Rosé asked a crowd of thousands of screaming fans during their main stage headlining set. “I think it was all the Blinks,” she said. It was an example of how everyone, including the weather, seemed to stop in anticipation of Blackpink’s historic set during day two of Coachella 2023. With artists like the K-pop megagroup, Rosalía, Labrinth, and Jai Paul‘s first-ever concert, day two was certainly one to remember. Let’s recap what we saw.
Friday night, Bad Bunny became the first-ever Latin solo artist to headline the main Coachella stage. This time, Blackpink were the ones making history. The girl group became the first-ever Korean act to headline the festival, and they certainly delivered on expectation. The four pop stars opened with their hit number “Pink Venom” and it didn’t take long for fireworks to light up the stage, mirroring the group’s explosive energy. Everything from their engaging choreography to their black-and-pink outfits were expertly planned. A long stage bisecting the crowd allowed them ample space to move around and highlight their collective force, while the big-screen cameras were more focused on giving each of the individual performers their spotlight moment. After launching into tracks like “Kill This Love” and “How You Like That,” Blackpink gave each member the opportunity to shine with their solo efforts. Jennie was first, singing her solo number “You & Me” complete with a dance break. Jisoo, the last Blackpink member to release a solo track, delivered her song “Flower,” which dropped only a few weeks ago. Rosé was next with a version of “On The Ground” and “Gone” and Lisa came last in the solo act lineup with her track “Money,” which had the crowd screaming along.
Blackpink’s set wasn’t the only historic Coachella performance of the night. All eyes were on Jai Paul, who had his first-ever performance. That’s right — not just his first-ever Coachella performance, but his first time performing live ever. The UK artist gained popularity over a decade ago but took an extended hiatus after his music was leaked online. In 2019, the artist returned to drop his music in an official capacity. Because Jai Paul isn’t used to performing in front of a crowd, much less to a crowd of thousands at one of the biggest festivals in the world, it was clear he had some understandable nerves. Unlike seasoned performers like Blackpink or Charli XCX, Jai Paul didn’t address the crowd during his set or try to hype up the audience. Instead, he walked out on stage and launched straight into the music. Even still, his dance-y beats and impressive falsetto vocals were enough to win over the crowd as he played fan-favorite tracks like “Jasmine,” “BTSTU,” and “Str8 Outta Mumbai.”
Philip Cosores
Speaking of stage presence, Charli XCX was in full pop star mode. Backed by an electric stage design and small group of immensely talented back-up dancers, Charli showed off her full potential with fun choreography and hyped-up crowd engagement. She continually addressed the crowd during her set, keeping the energy high and eliciting consistent screams of approval from fans. She even shouted out the other artists who would take the main stage after her, saying: “This song is for all my bad girls out there. All the bad girls who came to see me, Rosalía and BLACKPINK in your f*cking area.” It seemed like the entire festival was collectively jumping to songs like “I Love It” and “Vroom Vroom.” She also brought out a surprise guest; fellow singer Troye Sivan joined her for an engaging rendition of “1999” that had the crowd partying like it was 1999.
Rosalía was another seasoned performer who took the Coachella stage. As those watching the livestream at home saw, Rosalía really put her all into her emotional set. At one point, the singer dimmed the lights and poured her heart out to “Diablo.” The singer’s choreography and camera work were un-matched but as a viewer at the festival, it felt like Rosalía was much more focused on giving a performance to the livestream camera rather than to the crowd. Still, she had some touching fan interactions, like when she grabbed one of the cameras and walked out to the crowd barrier to let some fans scream her lyrics into the microphone. Later on in her set, Rosalía brought out a special guest: her recent fiancé, Rauw Alejandro. Together, the two delivered a few tracks off their collaborative EP and shared some adorable moments on stage.
Philip Cosores
Rosalía and Charli XCX weren’t the only artists to bring out big stars during their set. Labrinth closed out the Mojave tent on Saturday night, inviting none other than Billie Eilish to perform their joint track “Never Felt So Alone” to the delight of the screaming crowd. He displayed his powerful vocals while delivering a number of intimate tracks like “Mount Everest” and “Still Don’t Know My Name.” Similarly, Boygenius’ set had many intimate moments, though the crowd was much more sparsely attended since fans had already started packing in to see Blackpink at the next stage over. The group consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus kicked off their set with the a cappella number “With You Without Them” and a hard-rocking rendition of “$20” before moving into quieter numbers like “Emily I’m Sorry.”
Bad Bunny made history during the opening night of Coachella. During his closing set on the festival’s main stage, the “Ojitos Lindos” rapper became the first Latin music artist to headline the staple music event. Prior to his record-setting performance, he took to social media to let his fans know that as part of his set, he had a message to give them in the form of music. “I have so much to tell you,” wrote the entertainer. However, nowhere in his on-stage appearance did he make mention of his rumored relationship with model and reality TV star Kendall Jenner.
Bad Bunny brought out a heap of special guests, Post Malone, Jhay Cortez, Ñengo Flow, and Jowell & Randy. But it’s who he didn’t bring on stage that has fans buzzing. Returning to the Empire Polo Grounds on April 15, the supposed couple, along with a few friends, were seen enjoying Rosalía’s performance.
Neither Bad Bunny nor Jenner has spoken publicly about each other and whether they are indeed an item. Jenner has recently split from her longtime on-and-off-again ex-boyfriend, professional basketball player Devin Booker. Meanwhile, Bunny is currently battling a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, for the unauthorized use of her voice throughout his groundbreaking album, Un Verano Sin Ti.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Tonight (April 15), Jai Paul delivered his first live performance — ever. Paul made his live concert debut on the Mojave Stage at Coachella.
Granted, while fans weren’t sure what to expect from a Jai Paul performance, given the fact that there’s nothing to really go off of, his set was one of the biggest draws at this year’s festival. During his set, Paul performed some fan favorites, including “Genevieve” and “100,000.” It’s worth noting that while fans on-site were able to capture parts of the performance, the live stream wasn’t shared on YouTube, thus adding to Paul’s elusivity.
Over the course of more than years in the industry, Paul has laid relatively low. Since signing to XL Recordings in 2011, he has only released three official singles, however, his early material has greatly influenced the music landscape as a hole. “BTSTU” has been sampled by artists like Drake and Beyoncé, and “Jasmine” received much critical acclaim upon its release.
Shortly before his Coachella performance, Paul released a compilation called Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) on vinyl. This is a collection of demos that leaked online 10 years ago, but never materialized into an actual album. Only 3,000 copies of the vinyls were made available for a brief period of 24 hours.
You can check out clips of Jai Paul’s first-ever live performance at Coachella above.
Last year, Rosalía’s third studio album, Motomami was one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the year. The album spawned hits like “Chicken Teriyaki,” “Despechá,” and “Hentai,” all of which, she performed during her hour-long set.
But also, during her set, Rosalía brought out a special surprise guest. During a performance of “Beso” from Rosalía was joined by her collaborator and boyfriend, Rauw Alejandro. This reveal was met with cheers and applause from the audience.
While on stage, Rosalía and danced as if they were the only ones in the world, despite being surrounded by dancers performing top tier choreography, and an audience who sang along to every word, not missing a single beat. Rosalía and Alejandro also got a bit steamy with their dancing, which got a rise out of the crowd.
Throughout her set, Rosalía maintained a creative, festive energy, while pushing the bounds of what it means to be a pop star in 2023. As pop approaches a more language-neutral landscape, Rosalía sets the scene for what the future of music looks like.
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