History Music / FrankOcean

Ocean was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023, marking his first live performances in six years. His first of two scheduled performances, taking place on April 16, 2023, was criticized for factors including not being livestreamed on [=YouTube=] like other performances at the festival (with this decision reportedly being made on short notice), him arriving an hour late and abruptly leaving early due to local curfew, and presenting what many considered to be a relatively low-effort and confusingly formatted show (the end result of a [[TroubledProduction number of problems behind the scenes]]). He later withdrew from his second performance, slated for April 23, citing a leg injury.

Ocean was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023, marking his first live performances in six years. His first of two scheduled performances, taking place on April 16, 2023, was criticized for factors including not being livestreamed on [=YouTube=] like other performances at the festival (with this decision reportedly being made on short notice), him arriving an hour late and abruptly leaving early due to local curfew, and presenting what many considered to be a relatively low-effort and confusingly formatted show. He later withdrew from his second performance, slated for April 23, citing a leg injury.

Ocean's music career has, as of this writing, continued from there mainly through singles and features, although he has taken on separate ventures including an Apple Music 1 radio show titled ''blonded RADIO'', which was additionally included as a [[Radio/GTARadio radio station]] in a late 2017 update of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', and a luxury jewelry company called Homer. He was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Various lyrics in his songs have alluded to romantic and/or sexual relations with both men and women, leading to speculation about his sexual orientation. SubvertedTrope when he came out as bisexual/queer shortly after the release of Channel Orange.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Various lyrics in his songs have alluded to romantic and/or sexual relations with both men and women, leading to speculation about his sexual orientation.

Ocean's debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album and a nomination for Album of the Year. The album's thematic focus on unrequited love drew significant attention due to its recurring use of male subjects and pronouns, which became an area of special interest after Ocean shared an open letter prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter has since been considered a watershed moment in forecasting the shifting sentiments and increased acceptance of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade. While Ocean has never to this day specified a label for his sexuality, he has since become known as one of the highest-profile openly LGBT male stars in R&B music and an icon for the community.

While Ocean confirmed in 2013 that work had begun on his follow-up album, it would take until the end of summer 2016 for said album -- ''Blonde'', originally titled ''Boys Don't Cry'' -- to release after one of the most infamous and widely publicized album delays of its time. (Seriously; even ''Music/{{Adele}}'' complained.) However, several weeks prior, a cryptic livestream began on Apple Music that showed Ocean building a staircase in a warehouse with new instrumentals playing in the background. This would eventually become the visual component of another new album, ''Endless'', which Ocean released to fulfill his Def Jam contract as the final step in a "seven-year chess game" Ocean enacted to part ways with the label, which has been said to have finessed the label out of tens of millions of dollars. ''Blonde'' was subsequently a fully independent release.

In June 2022, it was announced that Ocean was in talks to make his feature film directorial debut for Creator/{{A24}}; he had expressed a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs great interest in film]] through online statements and references in his music and visuals for most of his career.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey[[note]]later Christopher Edwin Breaux[[/note]] on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Known for his elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and wide vocal range, Ocean is typically categorized as an RAndB artist but covers a wide variety of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

He is a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs massive film buff,]] and in June 2022, it was announced he is set to make his feature film directorial debut for Creator/{{A24}}.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey[[note]]later Christopher Edwin Breaux[[/note]] on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Known for his elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and wide vocal range, Ocean's music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide variety of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

Ocean's debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album and a nomination for Album of the Year. The album's thematic focus on unrequited love drew significant attention due to its recurring use of male subjects and pronouns, which became an area of special interest after Ocean shared an open letter prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter has since been considered a watershed moment in dictating the shifting sentiments and increased acceptance of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade. While Ocean has never to this day specified a label for his sexuality, he has since become known as one of the highest-profile openly LGBT male stars in R&B music and an icon for the community.

!!Thinkin' 'Bout Tropes:

* BeYourself: Played for laughs in "Be Yourself", which starts off as this but [[ForgottenAesop goes off message]]:

* TheBigEasy: Born and raised in New Orleans. He moved to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his recording studio. "Pink + White" uses imagery from the aftermath of the hurricane in its verses.

* BreakoutCharacter: to the point that a significant portion of his listeners have never even heard of Odd Future.

* TheCameo: Appears at the end of Domo Genesis' "Steam Roller".

* CoverVersion: Technically, although it's really more like extended {{sampling}}. About half of the songs on ''nostalgia. ULTRA.'' transpose the beats from other artists' tracks[[note]] Music/{{Coldplay}} for "Strawberry Swing," one-time Music/KanyeWest protege Mr Hudson for "There Will Be Tears," Music/TheEagles' "Hotel California" for "American Wedding," and Music/{{MGMT}}'s "Electric Feel" for "Nature Feels"[[/note]]; Frank tends to match the melodies but creates his own lyrics and harmonies.
** In 2018 he released a straightforward cover of "Moon River" from the film ''Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys''.
* [[DidNotGetTheGirl Did Not Get the Guy]]: The gist of Frank's "Coming Out" story, most directly referenced in "Bad Religion".

--> "Many college students have gone to college and gotten hooked on drugs, marijuana, and alcohol. [...] You understand the things that I've taught you. Not to drink alcohol, not to use drugs. Don't use that cocaine or marijuana, because that stuff is highly addictive. When people become [[{{Malaproper}} weed-heads]] they become sluggish, lazy, stupid and unconcerned. Sluggish, lazy, stupid and unconcerned. That's all marijuana does to you, okay? This is mom. Unless you're taking it under doctor's... umm... control. Then it's regulated. [[{{Anvilicious}} Do NOT smoke marijuana. Do NOT consume alcohol, do NOT get in the car with someone who is inebriated.]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking This is mom, call me, bye.]]"

* ExactWords: When his 30th birthday began nearing, fans pointed back to an old tweet of his that said "5 albums before 30", noting that he had 4 under his belt (''Nostalgia, Ultra'', ''Channel Orange'', ''Endless'', ''Blonde'') and had 1 more to go. When he turned 30, nothing happened. Then he took to his Tumblr to state that [[http://frankocean.tumblr.com/post/167963583301/well-i-made-the-album-before-30-i-just-aint he did make the album before 30]]...[[HereWeGoAgain he just didn't put it out]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Frank rapped "I'm high and bi / Oh, wait, I'm straight" on the OF posse cut "Oldie," most people simply interpreted it as clever if risky wordplay. Months later, he came out as either gay or bi.
* HiddenTrack: ''channel ORANGE'' features "Golden Girl (feat. Tyler, the Creator)" on a limited number of physical copies of the album. "Futura Free" features an untitled hidden track made up of loud static noise and interviews conducted by one of Ocean's friends.

* SocialMediaIsBad: "Facebook Story" implies this. Sebastian, the man speaking, argues that his girlfriend's Facebook friend request is meaningless when they've already been dating for three years, and she takes his unwillingness to accept it as a sign that he's cheating on her.

* AwesomeMcCoolname

Adopting the name Frank Ocean (believed, but never confirmed, to have been inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam but ended up feeling neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning him fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him [[Music/{{Beyonce}} Beyoncé]] and Music/JayZ). However, the mixtape was not without similarly high-profile opposition, namely from the Music/{{Eagles}}, whose legal action towards the track "American Wedding" (a remake of their song "Hotel California" that they took far less than kindly to) has kept the entire mixtape inaccessible from streaming for over a decade.

Adopting the name Frank Ocean (believed, but never confirmed, to have been inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam but ended up feeling neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning him fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Beyoncé and Music/JayZ). However, the mixtape was not without similarly high-profile opposition, namely from the Music/{{Eagles}}, whose legal action towards the track "American Wedding" (a remake of their song "Hotel California" that they took far less than kindly to) has kept the entire mixtape inaccessible from streaming for over a decade.

** Played with in "Strawberry Swing", but hey, at least [Franchise/[{{Superman}} whoever was in that spaceship got off the planet...]]

** Played with in "Strawberry Swing", but hey, at least [[{{Superman}} whoever was in that spaceship got off the planet...]]

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey[[note]]later Christopher Edwin Breaux[[/note]] on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Known for his elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and wide vocal range, Ocean's music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide variety of styles and influences, and he is in fact considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

First taking an interest in music from a young age, he planned to study English at college in his hometown of New Orleans; however, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina led to him dropping out to pursue music, and establishing himself as a songwriter in Los Angeles under the name Lonny Breaux. He eventually decided that the job, while comfortable, wasn't what he wanted to do forever.

Adopting the name Frank Ocean (believed, but never confirmed, to have been inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam but ended up feeling neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning him fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Music/{{Beyonce}} and Music/JayZ). However, the mixtape was not without similarly high-profile opposition (namely from the Music/{{Eagles}}, whose legal action towards the track "American Wedding", a remake of their song "Hotel California", has kept the entire mixtape inaccessible from streaming for over a decade).

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1392853723_frank_ocean_86.jpg]]

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey[[note]]later Christopher Edwin Breaux[[/note]] on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Known for traits including elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and a wide vocal range, his music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

He first took an interest in music from a young age and planned to study English at college in his hometown of New Orleans; however, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina led to him dropping out to pursue music, and eventually establishing himself as a songwriter in Los Angeles under the name Lonny Breaux.

He eventually decided that the job, while comfortable, wasn't what he wanted to do forever. Adopting the name Frank Ocean (believed to have been inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam but ended up feeling neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning Ocean fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Music/{{Beyonce}} and Music/JayZ).

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album and a nomination for Album of the Year. As much attention as the album got for its music and storytelling, its thematic focus on unrequited love drew significant attention due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter has since been considered a watershed moment in dictating the shifting sentiments and increased acceptance of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade. While Ocean has never to this day specified a label for his sexuality, he has since become known as one of the highest-profile openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the community.

While Ocean confirmed in 2013 that work had begun on his follow-up album, it would take until the end of summer 2016 for said album -- ''Blonde'', originally titled ''Boys Don't Cry'' -- to release after one of the most infamous and widely publicized album delays of its time. (Seriously; even ''Music/{{Adele}}'' complained.) However, several weeks prior, a cryptic livestream began that showed Ocean building a staircase in a warehouse with new instrumentals playing in the background. This would eventually become the visual component of another new album, ''Endless'', which Ocean released to fulfill his Def Jam contract as the final step in a "seven-year chess game" Ocean enacted to part ways with the label, which has been said to have finessed the label out of tens of millions of dollars. ''Blonde'' was subsequently a fully independent release.

His music career has, as of this writing, continued from there mainly through singles and features, although he has taken on separate ventures including an Apple Music 1 radio show titled ''blonded RADIO'', which was additionally included as a [[Radio/GTARadio radio station]] in a late 2017 update of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', and a luxury jewelry company called Homer. He was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023.

Frank Ocean's music has consistently earned critical acclaim and accolades as well as commercial success, making him one of the most successful R&B artists and most celebrated songwriters of his generation.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Various lyrics in his songs have alluded to romantic and/or sexual relations with both men and women, leading to speculation about his sexual orientation. Later [[Inverted Trope Inverted]] after he came out as bisexual shortly after the release of ''Channel Orange''.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Various lyrics in his songs have alluded to romantic and/or sexual relations with both men and women, leading to speculation about his sexual orientation.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey[[note]]later Christopher Edwin Breaux[[/note]] on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Distinguished for traits including elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and a wide vocal range, his music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

He eventually decided that the job, while comfortable, wasn't what he wanted to do forever. Adopting the name Frank Ocean (believed to have been inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam, but ended up feeling neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning Ocean fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Music/{{Beyonce}} and Music/JayZ).

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album. As much attention as the album got for its music and storytelling, its thematic focus on unrequited love became of special note due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter is considered a watershed moment in dictating the shifting sentiments and increased acceptance of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade, and while Ocean has never to this day specified a label for his sexuality, he has since become known as one of the highest-profile openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the community.

Frank Ocean's music has consistently earned critical acclaim and accolades as well as commercial success, making him one of the most successful R&B artists of the past decade.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux, on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Distinguished for traits including elliptical songwriting, expansive genre influences and a wide vocal range, his music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Has dyed his hair green, blue, and pink as of late.

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album. As much attention as the album got for its unconventional genre influences and storytelling, its thematic focus on unrequited love became of special note due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter is considered a watershed moment in dictating the shifting sentiments and increased acceptance of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade, and while Ocean has never to this day specified a label for his sexuality, he has since become known as one of the highest-profile openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the community.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux, on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. Distinguished for his musical style, elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range, his music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=].

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux, on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[AlternativeRAndB alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=], distinguished for his musical style, elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Earlier in his career, various lyrics in his songs led to speculation about his sexual orientation. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] as of 2012, when he officially came out as bisexual.

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album. As much attention as the album got for its unconventional genre influences and storytelling, its thematic focus on unrequited love became of special note due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. The release of the letter is considered a watershed moment in dictating the shifting sentiments of the hip-hop world towards the LGBT community over the coming decade, and while Ocean has never to this day specified a label, he has since become known as one of the relatively few openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the community.

He first took an interest in music from a young age but got the push to record his own after frequenting jazz bars and parlors. While he originally planned to study English at college in his hometown of New Orleans, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina led to him dropping out to pursue music. While he initially established himself as a songwriter in Los Angeles, he decided that the job, while comfortable, wasn't what he wanted to do forever.

Adopting the name Frank Ocean (inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam, but eventually felt neglected by the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning Ocean fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Music/{{Beyonce}} and Music/JayZ).

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album. As much attention as the album got for its unconventional genre influences and storytelling, its thematic focus on unrequited love became of special note due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. While he has never to this day specified a label, he has since become known as one of the relatively few openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the LGBT community.

His music career has, as of this writing, continued from there mainly through singles and features, although he has taken on separate ventures including an Apple Music 1 radio show titled ''blonded RADIO'', which ran from 2017 to 2019 and was additionally included as a [[Radio/GTARadio radio station]] in a late 2017 update of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', and a luxury jewelry company called Homer. He was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux, on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} alternative]] slant of the genre that struck out in the [=2010s=], distinguished for his musical style, elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range.

[[AC:Albums]]

[[AC:Mixtapes]]

* AdvertisedExtra: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] on "Pink + White". {{Music/Beyonce}} contributes some fairly noticeable backing vocals to the end of the song, but isn't credited as a feature (something most artists would be jumping to do to boost publicity of the song.)