Andrew Chin/FilmMagic
Frank Ocean’s performance at Coachella last Sunday (April 16) was so bizarre, starting with the fact that much of it took place behind the scenes, that some critics assumed it must have been a deliberate and brilliant deconstruction of the expectations of the headliners of the festival. Or something. Then Ocean himself said “that’s not what I intended to show” and canceled his performance for the second weekend of Coachella, a decision his reps claimed was made on doctor’s order due to a leg injury. All in all, it wasn’t what was expected from his first performance since 2017, with the world still waiting for a sequel to 2016’s instant classic. Blond.
In the new episode of Rolling Stone music now, Tomás Mier (who covered the Coachella performance) and Simon Vozick-Levinson join host Brian Hiatt to discuss the performance, Ocean’s possible mindset, whether it’s okay to admit that even geniuses can have a bad night on stage (the answer is “no” according to Justin Bieber), and all of Ocean’s brilliant and baffling career so far. Find the episode here at your favorite podcast provider, go straight to Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just hit play above.
We also discuss new details that have come to light, including rolling stone‘s report that 100 ice skaters were expected to join the performance before Ocean abruptly changed its mind (again, its reps blamed a leg injury for any change.)
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