Frank Ocean left fans furious as his headlining set at Coachella was an hour delayed and he was dropped from the festival’s live stream and is now being slammed by social media users and critics alike as more details emerge about the shortened headlining set.
The 35-year-old singer – who had arguably the most anticipated performance of the weekend after a six-year performing hiatus and a star-studded audience that included the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio – angered many including esteemed music critics.
He performed shorter than expected at the music festival on Sunday night, capping off the third and final day of the event’s first weekend being 57 minutes late and having to cut the performance short due to the 12am curfew.
Variety Jeff Miller He criticized the show on Monday morning writing: ‘Ocean’s set – in which he and his musicians are deliberately obscured by a cadre of people walking in a circle around them, seen only on video projected on dedicated screens more massive than those usually on the main stage at Coachella – was Messy, loose, and almost a disaster, it was probably one of the most divisive events in Coachella history, with flashes of brilliance that only led to a frustrating end result: disappointment and a twitchy audience. -.
Miller noted that the artist looked gorgeous when he opened the song for Novacane, however, he was barely seen on the giant video screens.
Uh-oh: Frank Ocean left fans furious as his Coachella headlining set was delayed by an hour and he was removed from the festival’s livestream and is now under fire by social media users and critics alike as more details emerge about his shorthand headlining set ; He is seen performing in New York in July 2017
He also noted that there was a long “What are we going to do next?” Pausing described him as “pregnant” and would come up repeatedly between songs even claiming the track listing sounded like “mostly a series of sounds audible on stage”.
Miller concluded the absolutely scathing write-up with an exclamation saying, ‘Ocean is likable in part because of its unpredictable nature, and surely his most devoted fans will call upon the pure art as an excuse. That’s fine: Ocean should have the freedom to explore his creativity as he pleases.
However, when you have years in front of 100,000 people clamoring to see you, having a plan is more than helpful: it’s essential. Hopefully, by the end of next week, Ocean will already have one.
This wasn’t the only lukewarm review Adrian Horton The Guardian ‘Most confusing and shocking of all,’ he wrote, ‘when he walked away from the Isley Brothers’ At Your Best (You Love) and announced, offstage, that he had been informed that he had been placed under curfew and that the show was over. People stayed where they were, thinking it might have been a bit even after the lights came on. This was not the case, to the shock of many.
With his debut, Ocean delivered the rare thrill of true suspense – what was he doing? Where was he going with this? Elevations were high. It’s a shame the ending felt so bitter.
Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times He wrote, “However, the way the show rescaled the dimensions of a festive party was a radical provocation.”
Meanwhile, an independent investigative outlet Festive owl to Twitter to give an alleged explanation of what happened which led to an hour delay.
‘Messy, loose, and almost a disaster’: The 35-year-old hitmaker performed shorter than expected at the music festival Sunday night, capping off the third and final day of the event’s first weekend as he was 57 minutes late and had to cut the performance short due to Curfew at 12 am
The theatrical production was supposed to include (and indeed did) an ice rink that was set up and ready to go.
Upset: Many of the fans in attendance took to TikTok and other social media to air their grievances
The outlet took to the microblogging site to write that according to their sources: “The stage production was supposed (and did) to have an ice rink set up and ready to go.
Frank decided at the last minute that he didn’t want that at all anymore. All of the people that were skating around him at the start of the show were actually ice skaters, who had been training for weeks, and were supposed to skate as part of the production. Coachella had to dismantle the approved stage (which had been planned and signed off for months in advance) + melt down the entire ice rink and then set it up the way Frank decided today without warning. Which you ended up seeing, and it caused an hour delay.
All this happened when the doors had already been opened on Sunday, and people had secured their places to see him. If no last minute changes were made, it wouldn’t perform at all – leaving the festival without a closing title.
The way the performance actually went was just one of the many controversies surrounding the beloved R&B singer as he did Fans at home struggle to contain their frustration as his performance was pulled from the live feed of the event, meaning they can’t tune in to it.
The singer was also delayed when he appeared on stage an hour late, after acts like Björk, Glorilla, Sudan Archives and Weyes Blood earlier in the day.
Despite it being their first performance in six years, the performer had to cut short his set due to local curfew rules.
Taking to Twitter to share their frustration, fans raged that he “regrets the day” as they demanded new music to make up for it.
It was the long-awaited performance for Frank, real name Christopher Francis Ocean, where he was the first in six years – having last performed at the Flow Festival in 2017 in Finland.
‘You’ll Regret This Today’: The way the performance actually went was just one of the many controversies surrounding the R&B singer, as he had fans at home struggling to contain their frustration as his performance was pulled from the live broadcast of the event, meaning they couldn’t Adjust ‘
He was scheduled to play Coachella in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation, and the singer was unavailable to play during the festival’s return last year.
But the return was delayed even more on Sunday, as he appeared on stage an hour late, and the reason is unknown.
Because of Coachella’s usual 12 a.m. Sunday curfew, he had to end the performance early as well.
“Guys, I was told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show.” “Thank you very much,” he said suddenly after a song at the festival.
In addition to the delay, the group was dropped from the Coachella live stream that was going on through YouTube, as many fans were eagerly awaiting it.
Fans took to social media to share the lengths they went to so they could tune it at home, expressing their frustration that the set wasn’t broadcast live.
One wrote, “I’ve actually been doing my job since 7 am to give you time, Frank Ocean, please.”
Another wrote: “Frank Ocean…not crazy just disappointed.”
A third added, “The set started late, you wouldn’t let them go live, and now the set ends early… an outspoken ambiance you’ll regret today.”
Disappointed: Fans were left disappointed with the performance and their inability to tune in
Another added: “Frank Ocean really went from ‘I miss you’ to ‘There’s a curfew, bye g2g’)”
As speculation swirled as to why the group wasn’t going live, Frank also clarified if it had anything to do with upcoming new music.
He told the crowd, “It’s not because of a new album. Not that there isn’t a new album, but it’s not like that now.”
His latest album was 2016’s BLONDE, which was critically acclaimed and achieved chart success in the UK.
More is coming? As speculation swirled as to why the group didn’t go live, Frank also clarified if it had anything to do with upcoming new music (pictured in 2012)
Last but not least: Frank capped off his first weekend of Coachella as he finished off the weekend with his collection
