Reasons Behind Frank Ocean's Bizarre Coachella Performance Emerge

A possible explanation behind Frank Ocean's bizarre Coachella performance has emerged.

ICYMI: In what marked his first live performance since 2017, punters gathered at Coachella's main stage on Sunday night ahead of Ocean's highly-anticipated 10:05 pm scheduled arrival, which ended up being one hour delayed as production was seen making last-minute changes to the stage.

When Ocean finally hit the stage, he kicked off with Novacane, Come On World, You Can’t Go!, Crack Rock, Bad Religion, and White Ferrari, before giving a touching speech about attending the festival with his late brother, Ryan Breaux, who died in a car crash in 2020.

After covering Aaliyah’s At Your Best (You Are Love), Ocean abruptly told the crowd at 12:20 am that the festival had hit its curfew limit and he would need to end his set - despite Coachella's curfew time being 1am.

Fans were understandably disappointed at the anticlimactic performances and took to social media to air their grievances.

Now, it's been revealed that an ice rink could be to blame.

According to The Festive Owl, who investigated what when down after the show, "The stage production was supposed to (and did) contain an ice rink that was constructed and ready to go."

"Frank decided at the last minute that he no longer wanted it at all. All of the people walking around him at the start of the performance were actually ice skaters, had been practicing for weeks, and were supposed to be skating as part of the production." 

I’ve been speaking with sources about exactly what transpired and how things went so far downhill Sunday for #FrankOcean + #Coachella…so here you go 👇

The stage production was suppose to (and did) contain an ice rink that was constructed and ready to go.

Frank decided at the…

— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) April 17, 2023

They added, "Coachella had to deconstruct the approved stage (that had been planned and signed off on for months in advance) + melt the entire ice rink and then set it up how Frank decided today with no warning. Which is what you ended up seeing, and caused the hour-long delay. "

"This all happened when doors had already opened for Sunday, and people were securing their spots to see him. If the last-minute changes weren’t made he wouldn’t have performed at all — leaving the festival without a closing headliner."

They added that the rapper and singer was also behind the last-minute choice to nix the live stream on Coachella's YouTube channel prior to his performance, forcing fans from home to the show through TikTok and Instagram streams.

"Ultimately, and I quote — 'It just didn’t seem like he wanted to be there but was obligated to be. Everything (including him) fell apart last minute. Don’t expect to see any coverage from the festival about the set. Something that is unprecedented in the history of Coachella. The relationship is not in a good place right now'.”

Meanwhile, Pitchfork has also reported that Ocean suffered an ankle injury during rehearsals in the lead-up to Coachella.

According to a source familiar with the situation, doctors advised Ocean to take pressure off his ankle by changing his production for the show. 

As for whether or not this will affect Ocean's performance at Weekend Two of Coachella remains to be seen.