Culture – 10 hours ago

Frank Ocean during the performs during the 2014 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 14, 2014 in Manchester, Tennessee (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images).

Justin Bieber has nothing but praise for Frank Ocean’s headlining set at Coachella this past weekend. The Justice singer shared a post on Instagram dedicated to Ocean’s performance, offering support despite backlash from Coachella organizers and fans. At certain points of the show, Ocean performed without a microphone and reportedly had lengthy pauses between songs.

This nigga was NOT performing 😹😹😹 pic.twitter.com/SxcuWwi0mk

— Joel Ferguson (@JWIMYS) April 17, 2023

“I was blown away by Frank Ocean’s Coachella performance,” Bieber wrote on Instagram. “His artistry is simply unmatched, his style, his taste, his voice, his attention to detail… I was deeply moved.”

He added, “It made me want to keep going and get better as an artist. He continues to set the bar high and gave me a night I will never forget! Thanks, Frank.”

According to TMZ, Ocean’s set was drastically different from a planned ice-skating rink that was originally slated to be a centerpiece of the performance. The website says that over 100 hockey players were cast for the show, having rehearsed on an elevated ice skating rink at Paramount Studios and were even bussed to Coachella a week prior to the show. However, the 35-year-old vocalist suffered a reported ankle injury due to a bike accident just days before Coachella, and had to scrap the ice rink production entirely.

Ocean is expected to headline Coachella on Sunday night (April 23) for the festival’s second and final weekend. No word on whether the set will be livestreamed.