Frank Ocean drops out of Coachella, says performance was ‘chaotic’

R&B singer Frank Ocean has pulled out of his headline set at Coachella after his first performance was labelled a “train wreck” by fans.

Singer Frank Ocean will no longer be headlining the second week of Coachella.

The R&B star was forced to drop out of the iconic California music festival due to injury, his rep confirmed with Variety.

“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,” his rep said in a statement.

“On doctor’s advice, [the] artist is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”

In the statement, Ocean himself added: “It was chaotic. 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.”

Frank Ocean has pulled out of the second weekend of Coachella due to injury. Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The news comes days after Ocean’s performance during the first weekend of Coachella – his first concert in six years – was labelled a “trainwreck”. The 35-year-old – who also has not released an album since 2016 – headlined the festival on Sunday night but his gig was panned by disappointed fans.

Even before he took to the stage, the star’s set was scrubbed from the Coachella livestream schedule with reports claiming Ocean himself “personally pulled the plug at the last second on the livestream”.

The singer was also an hour late to the gig, and when he and his band eventually turned up, they were barely visible to the crowd, with the lighting and fixtures obscuring the view.

People are pissed. Yelling. A true train wreck of a performance from Frank Ocean. We expect more from our millionaire heroes.

— Philip Cosores (@Philip_Cosores) April 17, 2023

Frank ocean so unserious, he was having a listening party😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/z49i5uUK7d

— NATE (@NATERERUN) April 17, 2023

Frank Ocean wrong as hell for that. Utter chaos and confusion from start to finish… and didn’t even finish.

— DJ GOT.A.LOT (@DJGotALot) April 17, 2023

Frank Ocean, seen here at the Met Gala in 2019, had not performed for six years before taking the Coachella stage last Sunday. Picture: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

“Ocean and his band were largely invisible to the crowd, save for some lucky fans in the first few rows. When the camera did show him, it was often the back of his head, or his face was obscured by shadows,” Insider reported.

And fans on social media said it took 10 minutes before Ocean performed his first song, and when he wasn’t singing, he was dancing along to his music or would leave the stage for long periods at a time.

However, amid the criticism, TMZ reported that Ocean suffered a “serious ankle injury” days before Coachella, which could be the reason for his eleventh-hour production changes and aloof stage presence.