Frank Ocean was a hotly anticipated performer at this past weekend’s Coachella festival. But his lackluster performance left fans underwhelmed.
The rapper started things off on the wrong note arriving at the venue an hour late. He got there at 11 PM and his set was cut short.
Once he got onstage, his performance was difficult to see on the big screens most fans were watching him on. Low-hanging fixtures and dim lighting blocked him from the audience’s view.
Frank didn’t do much to improve the situation. He was lethargic throughout the set and often couldn’t even be bothered to sing. He would let his prerecorded vocals take over without moving his mouth.
He also left his more famous tunes out of his set choosing less recognizable songs.
The show was disorganized overall with downtime gaps and awkward silences. At the end of the one-hour show, he unenthusiastically told guests, “Guys, I’m being told it’s curfew so that’s the end of the show.”
He left a crowd of unhappy fans many of whom were heard to be complaining about his performance as they exited the venue.
Perhaps Frank’s smartest decision was asking organizers not to film his performance for live streaming. Fans who wish to see the debacle will have to count on coverage from audience members on social media.
“We wanted to see him. That’s the point, we wanted to see him perform. He kept coming in and out from behind the stage to show face and then would leave again, it was very strange,” commented TikToker @kelsey_kotzer.
“People traveled such a far distance to see him and people had high expectations bc he hasn’t played in 6 years, and we all got disappointed. The whole production was just…lacking and he was not bringing much to the whole performance…Anyhow, everyone in the crowd was shook and a lot of people left early (including me),” another fan commented.
No one is sure why Ocean put on such a poor performance.