Coachella chaos has grown. Following his performance last week, headlining singer Frank Ocean has pulled out of his scheduled set at Coachella 2023 this Sunday, April 23. Apparently on doctor’s orders, Ocean will not perform due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.
“It was chaotic,” Ocean said in a statement. “There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”
Ocean’s set on Sunday, April 16, featured reworked versions of songs from across his discography. They included “Novacane,” “Pink + White,” “White Ferrari,” “Crack Rock,” and more. There was a new punk version of the Django Unchained outtake “Wiseman” and a cover of the Willie Nelson–penned Aretha Franklin song “Night Life.” He hinted a new album was in the works and paid tribute to his late brother, Ryan Breaux.
However, there was lots of criticism surrounding his set. Fans online expressed their frustration that Ocean’s set was one of very few that wouldn’t appear on the festival’s YouTube livestream. Additionally, the Blonde singer started his performance an hour late, was barely visible onstage and could only be seen by fans via a giant screen, and a rave interlude in the middle of the set left festival attendees bewildered. Not to mention his performance was abruptly cut short due to Coachella's curfew. Music reviewers such as Anthony Fantano even went so far as to say that Ocean had flopped.
Prior to today’s cancellation, sources indicated Ocean had sustained an ankle injury and altered the set’s overall production on the advice of doctors. It was widely rumored the changes included scrapped plans for an ice skating rink connected to the stage. Two ice skaters discussed their alleged experience working with Ocean in the week leading up to Sunday’s performance during a podcast.
Fans had been anticipating Ocean’s headlining performances at Coachella since 2020, when the reclusive R&B singer was announced as one of the main acts before the festival was canceled for two years due to the pandemic. In August 2021, the event’s co-founder Paul Tollett revealed Ocean would headline the 2023 edition of the festival.
Ocean's Coachella cancellation echoes last year's debacle, when Kanye West pulled out of his headlining set and was replaced with Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd. West was later sued $7.1 million by the Los Angeles–based production and design firm Phantom Labs, which claimed the rapper owed them money for work on his canceled Coachella set.
Despite his Coachella cancellation, hope is not lost for Ocean's career. The artist has been making strides with his Homer Radio and Blonded Radio programs. He continues to be active with the former program, recently uploading the show's 24th episode with special guest CRYSTALLMESS.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Frank Ocean music at Live365.com.
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Article Image: Frank Ocean at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. (Jean_Nelson via DepositPhotos.)
