How Did Frank Ocean's Coachella Peformance Fall Apart Before Getting Canceled?

Despite being one of the most highly-anticipated performances at Coachella 2023, Frank Ocean pulled the plug on his Weekend 2 Coachella performance due to a number of reasons, including a physical injury.

Because of this, the massive team behind his supposed huge spectacle performance aired out the details when the supposed "Frank Ocean on Ice" started melting before their very eyes.

Frank Ocean Drops Out of Coachella

According to a TMZ report, Frank Ocean's representatives confirmed to the media outlet that the singer will be dropping out on his second-week performance for Coachella. The announcement came on the heels of his polarizing first-week performance, which angered many of his fans who have been waiting for him for six years.

Fans complained of his late arrival on his set, a poorly-lit stage, and some lip-syncing issues. Some described the performance as "lackluster," considering it has been hyped up famously, and his comeback performance in years.

Rumors circulated that Frank was injured days before the performance, leading to the scrapping of an elaborate and technical set that was supposed to make use of ice skaters performing at the valley festival.

As unconfirmed reports started to build up, fans gave their own take on his performance, with Justin Bieber even showing his support to Ocean for a performance that has him blown away.

However, everyone was stunned to hear Frank Ocean's representatives' statements.

"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," they announced.

Hockey Players Dished Out The Tea Behind' Frank Ocean on Ice'

According to former Ice Hockey players Dan and Chris Powers in their "Empty Netters" podcast, a hundred and twenty skaters were recruited to accompany Ocean in his Coachella performance.

The "intense" rehearsals culminated on Apr. 11, when they went to Indio, California, for a dress rehearsal. However, "wheels started to fall off" when they heard that Olympic figure skaters that were also recruited got cut off from the production.

"Those figure skaters got cut not because there was an ice issue, not because there was something wrong," Dan Powers recalled. "There was no malfunction. He just straight-up was like, 'F-k this. I'm not doing this anymore.'"

Despite all of that, both Dan and Chris had the utmost respect for Ocean, who they say had the vision but, due to circumstances at hand, did not play out the way he wanted it to be.

Watch the full episode below:

Tags

Coachella, Frank Ocean