Justin Bieber Supports Frank Ocean Amid Coachella Outrage: ‘I Was Blown Away’ by the Performance and ‘His Artistry Is Simply Unmatched’

Justin Bieber came to the defense of Frank Ocean in an Instagram post in which the “Peaches” singer praised Ocean’s controversial Coachella performance. Ocean headlined Coachella 2023 along with Bad Bunny and Blackpink, but his April 16 set proved to be a massive disappointment for fans after he started an hour late, skipped over many fan-favorite songs, performed mostly sitting down and with his back to the crowd and lip-synched to several tracks. He also ran past the Coachella curfew and abruptly ended his set after less than 90 minutes.

While Ocean has received pans for his performance, Bieber had nothing but raves for his fellow musician. Bieber, who memorably surprised Coachella in 2019 by joining Ariana Granda’s headlining set, praised Ocean’s artistry and voice in a heartfelt note on social media.

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

Sources confirmed to Variety that Ocean’s performance was dramatically overhauled in the hours leading up to its start, which my account for why the set felt so off. An elaborate stage production involving an ice rink was constructed, while a group of skaters — who would apparently skate around Ocean and the band during their set — rehearsed for several days and were ready to go until Ocean allegedly called it all off on Sunday afternoon with just hours to go before taking the stage.

Reports from TMZ and Rolling Stone claim that Ocean’s performance “was adjusted at the last minute to account for an ankle injury the singer sustained during on-site rehearsals in the week leading up to the festival,” which could explain why Ocean was seated for a lot of his set.

At this time, Ocean is still scheduled to close out Coachella’s second weekend with a performance on April 23.

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