coachella

Frank Ocean’s Catastrophic Coachella 2023 Performance At Least Included News About A New Album

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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.

Frank Ocean’s Highly Anticipated Coachella 2023 Performance Was A Disaster And Fans Are Beyond Upset

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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.)

Check out some more reactions below.

Frank Ocean Started His Coachella Set An Hour Late With A Rousing Rendition Of ‘Novacane’

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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.

Frank Ocean’s Headlining Coachella Set Wasn’t Livestreamed And Fans Were Seriously Not Happy About It

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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.

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.

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:

Frank Ocean’s Coachella Live Stream Seemingly Cancelled, Twitter Reacts

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The final hours of Coachella weekend one are winding down. Patrons are certainly eager to catch the most highly anticipated headliner of the weekend, Frank Ocean. The Blond artist’s set is due to begin at 10 PM PT. Many have been counting down the hours until showtime all weekend long. Thankfully for those who couldn’t make it to this year’s event, the festival has been streaming several performances live via YouTube. While fans of Ocean have been looking forward to watching his first concert in years from the comfort of their own homes, speculation began circulating online on Sunday (April 16) evening that Coachella won’t be giving us a glimpse into the final show of the night.

It’s worth noting that Friday and Saturday’s main events, Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK, both made their sets available to audiences at home. Today, however, acts like Bjork and Ocean were notably missing from the streaming schedule, causing major concern to fly. “When is Frank Ocean gonna stop the anonymous game?” one Twitter user openly pondered upon hearing the news. “You’re not [an] underground artist. We all know what you look and smell like and know your favourite colour.”

Frank Ocean Headlines Coachella 2023

Several others chimed in with memes and videos depicting their reaction to the potential cancellation. Though undeniably dramatic, the outrage is understandable considering tonight marks Ocean’s first performance since 2017. He previously trended online last week as music lovers realized he likely wouldn’t be dropping a new album ahead of his Coachella set as many anticipated. Rather, the 35-year-old has kept quiet as of late, with his last official release coming in the form of 2020’s “Cayendo” and “Dear April.”

Prior to that, 2019 gave us singles such as “DHL” and “In My Room,” while 2018 saw the arrival of “Moon River.” He hasn’t delivered a full-length project since 2016, though we’ve got our fingers crossed that will change soon. Scroll on to read more reactions to Coachella reportedly cancelling Frank Ocean’s live stream, and check back later for more music news updates.

Twitter Reacts to Word of Cancelled Live Stream

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Kali Uchis’ Coachella Set Featured Appearances From Tyler, The Creator, Don Toliver, & More

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As expected, they saved the best for (almost) last. Ahead of Frank Ocean’s headlining set later this evening (April 16), Kali Uchis gave one of her best performances to date on the Coachella mainstage with thousands of patrons watching on. While fans surely would’ve been satisfied with just the bilingual songstress and her ethereal vocals, she didn’t disappoint with her roster of surprise appearances, which included “See You Again” collaborator Tyler, the Creator.

After satisfying hip-hop heads with the deluxe cut of his CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST album last month, the Californian brought plenty of energy to his performance. Their 2017 joint effort is the most-streamed title from Tyler’s Flower Boy project, and they’ve since worked together on “After The Storm” with Bootsy Collins. The Coachella crowd was obviously pleased with that, but little did they know, more was in store from Uchis.

Tyler, the Creator Joins Kali Uchis for “See You Again”

Omar Apollo was on deck to sing “Worth the Wait” with his friend shortly after the Creator left. The song appears on Uchis’ Red Moon in Venus album, which arrived in the first few days of March. Elsewhere on the 15-track effort she linked up with her boyfriend, Don Toliver, on “Fantasy.” The couple showed off their strong chemistry during the 28-year-old’s Coachella set, crooning the lyrics to their second joint release of 2023 so far. Other tracks the Virginia-born vocalist sang this weekend include “Moonlight,” “Papi Chulo,” and “Tattoo.”

Our first weekend in the desert has nearly come to a close, but it hasn’t been without its share of surprises. Kendall Jenner was spotted dancing in the crowd during Bad Bunny’s headlining concert, and Metro Boomin impressed attendees with a healthy list of guests. Among them was The Weeknd, who previewed new music – potentially from his upcoming HBO series, The Idol – while supporting his producer pal. Keep scrolling for more photos and videos from Kali Uchis’ first weekend at Coachella. Afterward, tell us which of today’s sets was your favourite in the comments below.

More Photos and Videos from Coachella

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Tyler The Creator Surprised Kali Uchis Fans During Her Coachella Set To Perform ‘See You Again’

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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.”

https://twitter.comNariety/status/1647768877307416583

Uchis was also joined by Omar Apollo, who performed their collaboration “Worth The Wait.”

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.

Kali last performed at Coachella in 2018 — and Tyler The Creator also popped out at that show.

You can see surprise appearances from Tyler and Omar Apollo in the clips above.

Ice Spice Performs At Revolve Festival During Coachella Weekend, Twerks To “Princess Diana”: Video

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It’s Ice Spice’s world, we’re just living in it. The “Bikini Bottom” hitmaker may not be on the line-up at Coachella this year, but she was one of the artists booked for Revolve Festival – an invite-only event that’s mostly attended by celebrities, socialities, and internet stars. Thankfully for her fanbase – now known as the Spice Cabinet – she came prepared with new material for us, though Nicki Minaj didn’t join her for the stage debut of their first collaboration.

The “Princess Diana (Remix)” arrived on Friday (April 14), along with a pink, twerktastic music video featuring plenty of booty shaking from both Spice and Minaj. In her usual fashion, the 23-year-old performed plenty of her signature dance moves while rapping her biggest hits, including bending over in her long patterned skirt and making her cheeks clap along to the beat. The crowd went wild for Spice’s performance, proving that it wouldn’t be shocking to see her tapped for Coachella in 2024 after showing out at Revolve Fest for her first trip to the desert as a rap star.

“Princess Diana (Remix)” Hits the Stage for the First Time

The moment is an undeniably big one for Spice. Still, it’s not at all the only milestone she’s celebrating as of late. The Bronx baddie posed for Heaven by Marc Jacobs’ latest campaign shoot earlier this month, which also featured Lil Uzi Vert. Prior to that, she connected with Taylor Swift at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, and was lucky enough to join Zedd during his Ultra Miami set to perform her 2021 track, “No Clarity.” Her career has only just begun, but already, the curvaceous redhead is clearly booked and busy.

Minaj may not have been able to join her for Revolve Festival, but she did make an appearance on her latest collaborator’s Instagram feed on Sunday (April 16). Much like in their “Princess Diana” video, both lyricists had their booties bouncing for the camera. Keep scrolling to see more photos and videos from Ice Spice’s Coachella weekend adventures, and check back later for any major updates from the California event.

Ice Spice’s Coachella Weekend Adventures

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Doechii’s Coachella Set Gave Fans A Preview Of An Unreleased Song, ‘Pacer,’ Rumored To Drop Soon

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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.

  1. “Ignant”
  2. “Swamp Bitches”
  3. “B*tch I’m Nice”
  4. “Crazy”
  5. “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake”
  6. “Pms”
  7. “Stressed”
  8. “What It Is”
  9. “Persuasive”