Frank Ocean appears to confirm a new album is on the way during Coachella headline set

It appears that a new album from Frank Ocean is on the way, even if it didn't drop just after his Coachella headline set like the internet assumed.

It's been over half a decade now since Frank dropped his seminal second album and widely regarded magnum opus, Blonde, in 2017, to all-encompassing critical acclaim and UK chart success, with the record debuting at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart, Frank's first chart-topping album here.

After dropping several one-off singles in the intervening years, including career-best cuts Chanel and DHL, Frank's comeback seemed to be chugging ahead at full steam when he was announced as one of the headline acts at this year's Coachella, his first live set in six years.

But if many were betting that Frank's live return would herald, perhaps, the surprise release of his new album or even a new single, they would walk away disappointed, since the man himself talked about a new album at Coachella...while seemingly confirming it's going to arrive, just not right now.

MORE: Frank Ocean's Official Charts history in full

"I wanna talk about while we're here today," Frank told the crowd at Coachella (his set was not recorded or livestreamed on YouTube, leading to speculation by some the recording will be used for another official release). "It's not because of a new album.

"Not that there's not a new album, but it's not right now."

Frank then went on to explain how he chose to return to Coachella because his life had "changed so much," a reference to the death of his little brother, Ryan Breaux, who passed away in 2020 in a car accident, aged just 18 years old.

Despite Frank's set being delayed by an hour initially (and then ending earlier than anticipated because of the Coachella curfew), he did make his way through a large section of material from both his albums  - channel ORANGE and Blonde - as well as mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and several one-off singles and collaborations too. 

What came a surprise during half the set is that a selection of hits - including Calvin Harris collaboration Slide with Migos - comprised of a DJ set by DJ Crystal Mess. 

It's worth noting that Frank didn't perform any new material at Coachella, but did unveil several tracks in their live debut - including Endless cuts At Your Best (You Are Love) and Florida, with some previously unheard new mixes of Novacane and White Ferrari.

Also keep in mind that Coachella is a two weekend event, and artists typically like to differentiate between sets, so we could be in for more surprises (and hopefully even some new music) next week.

It's no surprise that one of the most enigmatic stars of his generation pulled of an equally enigmatic return to the public eye - as much full of anguish at the delays and setbacks and surprising ways his music was incorporated into the set - but anticipation for new Frank Ocean music will always be at a societal high. We just have to wait patiently...for now.

Last year also marked a decade since the release of Frank's landmark debut album, channel ORANGE - we explore the legacy of that album and what it meant for Frank as an openly queer hip-hop artist here.

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