Justin Bieber has defended Frank Ocean’s Coachella performance despite criticism from the latter’s fans, arguing the singer’s “artistry is unmatched”.
Ocean recently came under fire after frustrated fans heavily derided his headling desert festival concert as “disappointing”.
However, despite the negative press, Bieber had nothing but praise for the “Lost” singer.
“I was blown away by Frank Oceans Coachella performance. His artistry is simply unmatched, his style, his taste, his voice, his attention to detail,” the “Hold On” singer wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
Following Ocean’s eagerly awaited return to public live shows on Sunday (16 April), after a six-year break, several attendees shared their unfavourable reviews.
Many complained that the R&B artist was over an hour late, leaving them “standing in the cold and waiting”, skipped over numerous fan-favourite songs, and was mostly seated while he sang, obstructing the audience’s view of his performance.
“Conclusion: people travelled such far distance to see him and people had high expectations,” one TikTok video read. “And we all got really disappointed. The whole production was just... lacking and he was really not bringing much to that performance.”
Ocean is said to have suffered an injury to his ankle during on-site rehearsals in the week building up to the festival, after which production was adjusted on doctors’ advice.
The 20-song setlist included reworked versions of a number of his biggest hits, with a final performance covering “At Your Best (You Are Love)” by Aaliyah.
During his show, Ocean shut down rumours that he was going to be dropping an album soon, before recalling memories of when he used to attend Coachella with his late brother Ryan, who died in a car crash in 2020.
“I know he would have been so excited to be here with us,” he told the crowd.
