Is Frank Ocean Releasing a New Album in 2023?

Image Source: Getty / Theo Wargo

Frank Ocean broke all the principles in 2016. Marked by its heart-shattering vocals, “Blonde” was an intimate and expressive sophomore album met with vital acclaim and continued devotion from followers. From “Nikes” to “Godspeed,” the sad lyrics had us hooked, however earlier than the static-laced notes of “Futura Free” trickled to a end, he was gone. Now, almost seven years later, Ocean’s hiatus could lastly be coming to a shut. On Jan. 10, Coachella confirmed the singer as a headliner at the 2023 festival alongside Bad Bunny and Blackpink. With the competition inching nearer daily, followers are issuing one heartfelt plea: the place’s the brand new album, Frank?

Ocean’s lyrics have turn out to be the soundtrack to moments of solitude post-heartbreak and late-night social media scrolls. Even all these years later, Twitter continues to be flooded with lyrics from “White Ferrari” paired with crying gifs. It’s evident that the affect of Ocean’s music is palpable, however the absence of something new from the artist hits simply as arduous.

Ocean hasn’t been fully quiet, nonetheless: since “Blonde,” he is sporadically launched singles and made characteristic appearances. In 2017, he appeared on JAY-Z’s “Caught Their Eyes.” He additionally collaborated with Calvin Harris on “Slide,” A$AP Mob on “Raf,” and Tyler, the Creator on “911 / Mr. Lonely.” There was additionally his cowl of “Moon River” launched on Valentine’s Day in 2018, and extra lately, he shared the tracks “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in 2020.

Frank Ocean’s New-Album Details

In September 2022, the singer wiped his Instagram clear, drumming up hypothesis and anticipation about his new musical period. Half a 12 months has passed by, nonetheless, with almost no further updates. On the tenth anniversary of his debut album, “Channel Orange,” in July, the singer released a 35-minute instrumental with psychedelic undertones on an episode of his Apple Music collection, “Blonded Radio.” Ocean additionally up to date his web site with new merch, together with “Blonded Radio” T-shirts and a “Channel Orange” poster.

In January, Ocean launched another poster telling the story of a “fictional recording artist” who most popular singles over the “outdated” album distribution mannequin prevalent in the recording trade. At the tip of the textual content, the passage hinted at the concept that Ocean could have modified his thoughts and determined to favor albums as soon as once more. “The Recording Artist has since modified his thoughts concerning the singles mannequin, and is once more in extra durational our bodies of labor,” the poster learn.

Ocean’s private model of thriller, whereas suspenseful, has left followers on edge as we scour his social media accounts for even a morsel of one thing new. After numerous scans of his profiles for cryptic hints at a new mission, no album title, tracklist, or launch date has been confirmed. The anticipation has even led to the creation of fan accounts resembling Twitter consumer @DidOceanDrop, who offers every day updates on whether or not or not Ocean has dropped a new album. While the tweets to this point have been a resounding mixture of “no,” “nahhh,” and “no in no way” since 2018, Ocean’s fanbase stays poised to leap on the information as quickly as he deems the album full.