Coachella’s Line-Up May Make You Do a Double Take
I bet Frank Ocean fans didn’t believe they would see the day Ocean took the stage again. After three years of no live performances, Frank Ocean will break his musical silence this year at Coachella.
The two-time Grammy award winner will be headlining day three of the music festival on April 16th, 2023.
Ocean hasn’t gone completely MIA, appearing at the Met Gala and releasing his high-end jewelry brand, Homer. But as far as music, his last studio album, Blonde, was released seven years ago.
Could this performance mean we’ll get more music in the near future? Or is this Ocean’s way of giving his fans one last hoorah before he moves on to other endeavors?
Frank Ocean’s alleged retirement from music isn’t more than an internet rumor. However, the artist’s desire to ease out of the limelight is still plausible. Considering that to be true, it surprises many that he’s said to be headlining one of the most popular music festivals in the country—not to mention his scarcity of new music.
Despite the obvious, people will be attending Coachella, and he may be the driving motive behind it. Therefore raising the question, how does Frank Ocean remain so relevant amongst his musical counterparts in an industry oversaturated with talent?
Ocean has established himself as an artist through his music. Evidently, he takes his craft very seriously by devoting countless amounts of time and effort to creating something he wants to share with the world. After his debut studio album, channel ORANGE, Frank Ocean took four years to release his next collection of work.
There is a notion that artists must constantly pump out music to stay relevant, Frank Ocean’s rebellion to that is what draws people to him. “In a world when everything is available and approachable, Frank Ocean seems untouched, obscure and endlessly mysterious” states, thatDROP.
Frank Ocean’s natural ability to encapsulate feelings of vulnerability, sexuality, addiction, and love into four-minute songs (on average) sets him apart from the crowd. He is both raw and gracious, a duality people admire and can relate to. He has proven to be timeless in an ever-changing environment.
There’s no way to know for sure if Frank Ocean’s performance at Coachella is a precedent of what’s to come. However, the singer is still present in the recording studio. Rosalía, the Spanish musician native to Barcelona, stated she had been in the studio with Frank, according to i-D Magazine. He even gave her a word of advice that guided her in making her single “Saoko.”
There are speculations that Frank will deliver new music before his “comeback” performance. This seems to be the tactical approach, although Ocean is known for straying away from what’s conventional or fitting.
Frank Ocean doesn’t want to conform to just one thing. He’s an artist but also a businessman. Many artists in the industry have thrown in the musical towel, if you will. If Frank Ocean wants to tap into his entrepreneurial spirit, I don’t think he has to abandon music to do so. New music or not, his work will live on as it has all these years.
What songs do you think Frank Ocean will perform at Coachella? Leave a comment below.