Why Did Frank Ocean Pull Out of Coachella?
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Frank Ocean has officially pulled out of Coachella. The singer was this year’s most highly-anticipated headliner, but after a confusing, rocky set this past Sunday, he’s decided not to return. Next week, Blink-182 will fill his spot at the music festival.
According to Ocean’s reps, the cancellation is due to an injury. The artist’s team provided a statement to TMZ, which read, “After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1, Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity. On doctors’ advice, Frank is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”
I was in the crowd for Ocean's set last weekend, and can confirm: he didn’t spend much time prancing around on his feet. In fact, the artist performed most of his set from what appeared to be backstage. Throughout the stilted performance, as Ocean popped in and out of sight, fans beside me whispered, "Where is he?" Even if he has suffered an injury, that may not be the full story. In Ocean’s own words, the concert was “chaotic”—which was something he admitted during the shockingly long pauses between songs. Ocean admitted as such to TMZ, saying, “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.”
The first sign of trouble, from my spot on Coachella's grounds, came hours before the concert even began. While waiting in line for a drink, I heard a rumor that Ocean “might not show up.” Other eavesdropping fans denied it. Why wouldn’t he show up for his first show in years? Cut to Ocean's set starting 50 minutes late. When the show finally did begin, the crowd’s roar turned into an awkward hum while we watched his dancers—who were actually figure skaters (more on that later)—walk around in circles.
The show turned increasingly weird from there. After teasing fans with his half-there, half-not-there stage presence, Ocean planted himself center stage—and started crooning obscure remixes of his hit tracks. The audience tried singing along, but the unexpected key changes and reworked lyrics made it hard to keep up. Later on, the famed R&B singer brought a young child on stage, who was, he explained, his “inner child.” After a song or two, the kid yelled, “Hi, Coachella!" and ran off stage. At one point, Ocean interrupted his own show with an unprompted DJ set, which featured his dancing bodyguard. On top of it all, he teased fans with new music, saying there’s “not, not, an album” in the works. Some called the hour-and-a-half mishmash experimental. To me, it was a random attention grab. Like when a little kid holds their family hostage in the living room and says, “Watch this!”
Even with the performance’s better moments—which were short-lived but unforgettable, like Ocean’s angelic performance of “Godspeed”—it felt like Ocean and his band were trying to distract the audience from a larger issue. Perhaps that was because they couldn’t execute his original plan. The original set was rumored to include an ice rink that Ocean and a team of figure skaters would glide around on.
Alas, as Ocean's show grew more disjointed still, the crowd tried to decipher what, exactly, was going on. Some claimed he was simply being Frank. Others worried that the anxiety caused by his first live performance in years was too much, so he scrapped his plans and decided to wing it. Then came the most plausible idea: What if he just wasn’t ready?
Toward the beginning of the show, Ocean thanked the audience for their attendance and reflected on the last time he visited Coachella with his late brother, Ryan Breaux. “My brother and I came to this festival a lot, I felt like I was dragged out here half the time because I hated the dust,” he said. “I know he would’ve been so excited to be here with all of us.” After Ocean’s set was cut short, the overwhelming consensus among fans was that the singer wasn’t emotionally prepared to be on stage.
One day, we may learn more about what really happened. Maybe the crowd was right—the performance was too much to handle. Maybe Ocean’s reps were right, and the chaos can be blamed on his injuries. Either way, until Ocean speaks more about the incident, it’s safe to assume that pulling out of the festival was the best option.
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