138-887: Blonde is the second studio album by the American singer Frank Ocean . It was released on August 20, 2016, as a timed exclusive on the iTunes Store and Apple Music , and followed the August 19 release of Ocean's video album Endless . The album features guest vocals from André 3000 , Beyoncé , and Kim Burrell , among others. Production was handled by Ocean himself, alongside a variety of high-profile record producers, including Malay and Om'Mas Keith , who collaborated with Ocean on Channel Orange , as well as James Blake , Jon Brion , Buddy Ross , Pharrell Williams , and Rostam Batmanglij , among others. In 2013, Ocean confirmed that his follow up to Channel Orange would be another concept album . Initially known as Boys Don't Cry and teased for
276-570: A Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist , among other accolades ; both of his studio albums have been listed on Rolling Stone ' s " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " (2020). Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter until joining the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. The year prior, he signed with record producer Tricky Stewart 's RedZone Entertainment , an imprint of Def Jam Recordings , although his debut mixtape , Nostalgia, Ultra (2011),
414-587: A Fleetwood Mac song. He said that the pureness and cleanness of Fleetwood Mac's song prompted him to attempt to create a more streamlined musical style within Currents . On 6 January 2015, Spinning Top Music announced that a new Tame Impala album will be released in 2015. During the same month, it was announced that the band would perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015. On 11 March 2015,
552-505: A torch singer due to "his feel for romantic tragedy, unfurling in slow-boiling ballads". Ocean's stage presence during live shows has been described by Chris Richards of the Washington Post as "low-key". While nostalgia, ULTRA featured both original music by Ocean and tracks relying on sampled melodies, Channel Orange showcased Ocean as the primary musical composer, of which music journalist Robert Christgau opines, "when he's
690-530: A Hottest 100 Countdown and the first time the project had attained number one in any Hottest 100. (The same song had previously placed fourth in the 2015 Hottest 100.) On 20 March 2020, Parker appeared on the Weeknd 's album After Hours , producing and providing background vocals on the track " Repeat After Me (Interlude) ". At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards in November, Tame Impala won a further five trophies: "Album of
828-869: A July 2015 release, the album suffered several delays and was the subject of widespread media anticipation leading up to its release. Recording for the album took place throughout 2013 and 2016 at New York's Electric Lady Studios and, after a period of writer's block , in London at Abbey Road Studios and in Los Angeles' Henson Recording Studios . Its physical release was accompanied by a magazine entitled Boys Don't Cry . Blonde features an abstract and experimental sound in comparison to Ocean's previous releases, encompassing styles such as R&B , pop , soul , avant-garde , indie rock , electronica , psychedelia , and hip hop . Ocean also notably makes use of pitch shifted vocals. The Beach Boys ' de facto leader Brian Wilson
966-457: A July release date. The image shows a library card labeled Boys Don't Cry with numerous stamps, implying various due dates. The dates begin with July 2, 2015, and conclude with July 2016. Ocean's brother, Ryan Breaux, further suggested this release with an Instagram caption of the same library card photo reading "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY2016". By August 1, 2016, at approximately 3 am, an endless live stream shot in negative lighting in what
1104-523: A Version segment. The Wiggles' cover version went on to place at number one in 2021's Hottest 100. In February 2022, the band released The Slow Rush B-Sides and Remixes . In May 2022, the band released the single " Turn Up the Sunshine ", a collaboration with Diana Ross . The track is the lead single from the Jack Antonoff -produced original soundtrack album for the film Minions: The Rise of Gru . With
1242-426: A bit more. Then I’ll know what to do next. In May 2014, Parker spoke of his growing inclination toward the recording of another album in a triple J radio interview, explaining: "I'm getting more and more sucked into the world of making an album. It's weird how it happens naturally, it's almost feels like a seasonal thing. I've started to think about tracklistings and all the things that come with an album." Describing
1380-725: A cease and desist letter. Ocean later confirmed through a Tumblr post that the dispute was about social issues, not music, and had since been resolved between the two artists. On November 6, 2018, three midterm specials of Blonded Radio were aired throughout the day, in collation with the Midterm elections that were held in the US, as well as the release of new merchandise given to those with proof of voting for free in Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Dallas. The shows themselves did not include any new songs by Ocean, but included various political discussions including
1518-563: A close affiliation with fellow Australian psychedelic rock band Pond , sharing members and collaborators, including Nick Allbrook , formerly a live member of Tame Impala. Originally signed to Modular Recordings , Tame Impala is now signed to Interscope Records in the United States and Fiction Records in the United Kingdom. Parker originally conceived the project in Perth in 2007. After
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#17330848653371656-450: A cover of the song performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany's . In May 2018, Ocean was featured on the tracks "Brotha Man" and "Purity" from ASAP Rocky 's third studio album Testing . In August 2018, Ocean featured on the song " Carousel " from Travis Scott 's third studio album Astroworld , which released on the same day. In September 2018, it was reported that Ocean took legal action against Scott through
1794-440: A dense musical fusion that drew on jazz , soul , and R&B . Funk and electronic music also influenced his album. The songs about unrequited love in particular received the most attention, partly because of Ocean's announcement prior to the album's release, when he revealed that his first love was a man. The announcement made global headlines, and some critics compared its cultural impact to when David Bowie revealed that he
1932-598: A discussion about Ocean being an 'openly queer' black man in contemporary rap music. On February 5, 2019, Ocean's Tumblr account was hacked hinting info about more of Ocean's material. The posts have since been deleted. On October 19, 2019, Ocean released a new song titled " DHL " on his Beats 1 radio show Blonded Radio and announced 7-inch vinyl singles of two new songs on his website titled "Dear April" and "Cayendo", originally available only as physical singles featuring B-side remixes from Justice and Sango , respectively. On November 1, 2019, Ocean followed up "DHL" with
2070-523: A four-year hiatus, Ocean released the visual album Endless (2016) to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam. His second studio album, Blonde , was released independently the following day. Expanding on Ocean's experimental approach, Blonde was met with critical acclaim, debuted atop the US Billboard 200 , and ranked first on Pitchfork 's Best Albums of the 2010s Decade list. After 2017, Ocean has released sporadic singles, worked as
2208-506: A free man." Numerous celebrities publicly voiced their support for Ocean following his announcement, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z . Members of the hip hop industry generally responded positively to the announcement. Tyler, the Creator and other members of OFWGKTA tweeted their support for Ocean. Russell Simmons wrote a congratulatory article in Global Grind in which he said, "Today
2346-524: A laborious experience for some listeners. AllMusic 's Andy Kellman deemed it "undiluted and progressive" but qualified his praise by stating that "over the course of an hour, all the sparsely ornamented ruminations can be a bit of a chore to absorb, no matter how much one hangs on each line". Andy Gill was more critical in The Independent , deeming much of the music lethargic, aimless, and devoid of strong melodies. HipHopDX reviewer William Ketchum III in
2484-408: A mixed review said that the singer "sometimes delivers only what's necessary to make his point, while other efforts come across as meandering and incomplete". At the end of 2016, Blonde appeared on a number of critics' lists ranking the year's best albums. According to Metacritic, it was the third most prominently ranked album of 2016. In the first week of release, Blonde debuted at number one on
2622-414: A music video for a song titled " Nikes " was uploaded to Ocean's Connect page on Apple Music and later to his own website. Also on August 20, Ocean announced pop-up shops in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and London for his magazine Boys Don't Cry , and released his second studio album Blonde to widespread acclaim. Blonde debuted at number one in several countries, including the United States and
2760-531: A new album. "Jay and I have been recording pretty compulsively and album number two is nearing potential completion already and I'm so excited about it that I'm having trouble keeping myself from telling you all about it". This came only months after Innerspeaker was released. The group toured in mid-2010, commencing the Innerspeaker album tour on 13 May 2010 as the opening act for MGMT 's 2010 American tour. The band returned to Australia to play at Splendour in
2898-399: A new song titled " In My Room ", which was premiered on Blonded Radio , and soon after on November 3 posted online another vinyl single of a new song titled " Little Demon " featuring a B-side remix by Arca . However, on February 25, 2020, Ocean announced that he will replace "Little Demon" with an unreleased song which would be released on February 28, 2020. The vinyl for "Little Demon"
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#17330848653373036-415: A new song titled " Let It Happen " was released as a free download. On 5 April 2015, Tame Impala announced and released the album cover for Currents in a Facebook post. A few hours later, the band released the first official single from the upcoming album on Facebook called " 'Cause I'm a Man ". Later that month, on 22 April 2015, Tame Impala officially released "Let it Happen" as the second single from
3174-631: A photographer for magazines, launched the fashion brand Homer , and started Homer Radio . 15 of Ocean's songs have entered the Billboard Hot 100 , while four of his releases (singles or albums) have received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987, in Long Beach, California . His father
3312-536: A piano arrangement from James Blake . "Pretty Sweet" features gospel choir elements and dissonant noise. The album ends with an interview between Ocean and his brother Ryan, recorded when Ryan was 11 years old. On April 6, 2015, Ocean announced that his follow-up to Channel Orange would be released in July, as well as a publication, although no further details were released. The album was ultimately not released in July, with no explanation given for its delay. The publication
3450-445: A play, a recurring theme throughout the album". Spin magazine's Dan Weiss compared his vocal treatments to those of Prince 's aborted Camille album. The Daily Telegraph also suggested that Ocean's voice and melodies obscured the experimental nature of his compositions. The album has elements of spoken word . The track "Seigfried" interpolates a spoken word part by Elliott Smith and "White Ferrari" borrows musical elements from
3588-530: A remix of Endless track "Slide On Me" featuring Young Thug . On May 15 Ocean was featured on ASAP Mob 's " Raf ", premiered on Blonded alongside a solo version of "Biking". On August 28, Ocean released another single, " Provider ", on Blonded Radio . In October 2017, Ocean published a photo essay titled "New 17" to British magazine i-D . In the essay, Ocean said "If you liked two thousand and seventeen then you'll love two thousand and eighteen". In November 2017, Ocean hinted via Tumblr that his fifth project
3726-402: A rock duo that consisted of Parker (guitar) and Luke Epstein (drums). Tame Impala emerged in 2007 as a home-recording project created by Parker, who posted a number of tracks on Myspace . This generated interest from a number of labels, and eventually he signed a worldwide deal with the independent Modular Recordings in July 2008. To transfer these recordings to a live setting, Parker enlisted
3864-546: A series of singles and EPs, Tame Impala's debut studio album, Innerspeaker , was released in 2010; it was certified gold in Australia and well received by critics. Parker's 2012 follow-up, Lonerism , was also acclaimed, reaching platinum status in Australia and receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album . Tame Impala's third album, Currents , was released in July 2015, and like its predecessor, it won ARIA Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of
4002-528: A song to him called "There Will Be Tears" on his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra . He also mentioned him on his 2017 single "Lens". After graduating from John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana in 2005, Ocean enrolled in the University of New Orleans to study English. However, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, destroying his home and personal recording facility and forcing him to transfer to
4140-495: A special photographer for Vogue . On October 23, 2017, he made two covers and a visual essay for British fashion magazine, i-D . Ocean's younger brother, Ryan Breaux, was killed in a car crash on August 2, 2020, at the age of 18. The crash was a single vehicle collision which led Breaux to be pronounced dead at the scene. Ocean wrote an open letter , initially intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange , that preemptively addressed speculation about his attraction in
4278-447: A stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2019. He also stated that he would be "very disappointed" if the new record by Tame Impala wasn't released by summer 2019. On 1 July 2018, Tame Impala teamed up with electronic artist ZHU to create the single "My Life". In October 2018, Parker played bass for rapper Travis Scott for a performance of "Skeletons/Astrothunder" on Saturday Night Live , with singer-songwriter John Mayer also part of
Blonde (Frank Ocean album) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-431: A strong influence on the album's lush arrangements and layered vocal harmonies. Featuring a use of guitar and keyboard loops, writers noted that the rhythms on the album are languid and minimal . The album's themes surround Ocean dealing with his masculinity and emotions, inspired by personal heartbreak, loss and trauma. The album has been categorized as avant-garde soul . The Quietus wrote that its form "isn't that of
4554-462: A typical pop or R&B album – it tends to meander into his surreal dreamscapes, cut with jarring samples of conversation, odd effects, drifting guitars and beatless melodies that go on longer than expected." The Daily Telegraph described its sound as "a mellifluous concoction of shimmering melodic haze and ambient mood, almost entirely absent of anything resembling a singalong chorus or club groove." The Observer ' s Kate Mossman characterized
4692-429: A whole other story very personal to him in it". This photograph would be used in promotional material for the album. In his only interview of the album's release cycle, Ocean told Jon Caramanica that a conversation with a childhood friend from New Orleans helped him overcome his writer's block and convinced him to touch on his experiences growing up: "How we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling
4830-435: Is "cultivating a sound that balances adult concerns with a sense of young men trying to understand their own desires (an apt description of Ocean, particularly)." Writing for Insider , Callie Ahlgrim said that Ocean "changed our very understanding of modern music", and that he discusses themes like youth, innocence, lost love, loneliness, desire, and mortality in his music in a way that "feels fresh and extraordinary [and] makes
4968-520: Is "smart and subtle...setting him apart from the pack". Rolling Stone magazine's Jonah Weiner wrote that Ocean was a "gifted avant-R&B smoothie". In April 2011, Ocean stated that his relationship with Def Jam had strengthened since the release of the Nostalgia, Ultra . The mixtape made Ocean widely known and led to his collaborations with rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West . Ocean first appeared in Tyler,
5106-545: Is Calvin Edward Cooksey and was a singer and keyboardist, and his mother is Katonya Breaux Riley who later worked as a residential contractor. He was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was six years old. When he was five years old, he and his family relocated to the New Orleans area. He was raised Christian , including a brief time as a practicing Catholic . Ocean's grandfather Lionel McGruder Jr.
5244-448: Is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we? [...] Your decision to go public about your sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear." When asked if he considers himself bisexual in a 2012 interview, Ocean stated: "I'll respectfully say that life is dynamic and comes along with dynamic experiences, and
5382-417: Is a collaboration with Mick Jones , Paul Simonon and Diplo and is a part of Converse 's Three Artists. One Song series. In April 2014, Ocean stated that his second album was nearly finished. In September 2014, critical success and musical awards enabled new management and representation for Ocean. Ocean signed with Mark Gilespie of Three Six Zero Entertainment. In June, Billboard reported that
5520-578: Is a photo taken by Parker of the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, France, with additional editing by Leif Podhajsky , a graphic designer who created the album art for Innerspeaker . The image ties into the themes of isolation of Lonerism , with a metal gate separating the viewer from the people in the Gardens. The band released the song "Apocalypse Dreams" as a free download on 7 July 2012. The first single, " Elephant ",
5658-407: Is allegedly a Brooklyn warehouse, sponsored by Apple Music began to surface on boysdontcry.co which appeared to show Ocean woodworking and sporadically playing instrumentals on loop. It later became clear that these instrumentals were from his upcoming visual album Endless ; the full version is estimated to be 140 hours long. That same day, many news outlets reported that August 5, 2016, could be
Blonde (Frank Ocean album) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-487: Is also Ocean's first recorded collaboration since leaving Def Jam, with Ocean being listed in the liner notes as "appear[ing] courtesy of Frank Ocean". The song went on to be certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and became Ocean's first top ten single on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart, peaking at No. 9. On March 10, 2017, Ocean released a new single " Chanel " on
5934-695: Is an R&B album in only the most elastic and expansive sense of the term" and noted that "minimalist rock guitar and simple electric keyboard work drive numerous songs; twitchy rhythms and bizarre vocal effects creep in from the edges. Songs change shape subtly as they go, rarely ending in the same place they began." Ann Powers described the album as "equal parts psychedelic indie rock , post- IDM electronica , post- U2 / Coldplay -esque Eno -pop, post- Drake hip hop , and post- Maxwell drifty soul / R&B," and wrote that "experimental, druggy sonics abound." Nina Corcoran from Consequence described Blonde as featuring an avant-garde minimalist style similar to
6072-562: Is an eccentric take on such subject matter common in R&;B. The latter song was released by Ocean on his Tumblr account and references both the traditional spiritual " He's Got the Whole World in His Hands " and the female anatomy in its chorus: "she's got the whole wide world in her juicy fruit / he's got the whole wide world in his pants / he wrapped the whole wide world in a wedding band / then put
6210-650: Is believed that Parker started recording the follow-up album to Lonerism at the beginning of 2014, due to various Instagram posts that showed recording taking place at the Wave House in Western Australia , where Innerspeaker was recorded. Prior to this, Parker had been touring with Tame Impala and working on other musical projects, including his disco-funk band, AAA Aardvark Getdown Services. Parker said in May 2013: Right now, doing another album doesn't excite me. There's something narrow-minded about thinking an album
6348-478: Is immersed in new sonic possibilities, one who is deeply committed to artistic exploration in the most profound sense." Savage praised Ocean for taking R&B to a "new level [through] constructing startling sound pictures that fit his lyrics." Pitchfork regarded Ocean as a "master of confessional songwriting, earning a cult-icon status with his enigmatic persona and idiosyncratic approach to pop." In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Ocean at number 190 on its list of
6486-434: Is recognized as a strong influence on the album's lush arrangements and layered vocal harmonies, while the guitar and keyboard rhythms on the album are considered as languid and minimal . The album's themes surround Ocean dealing with his masculinity and emotions, inspired by sexual experiences, heartbreak, loss, duality, and trauma. Blonde received widespread acclaim, with critics praising Ocean's introspective lyrics and
6624-410: Is the only way you can put out music, especially in the world we’re in at the moment. Anything is possible. There's so many people doing interesting things with the internet and technology, there could be so many ways of making music and listening to it. It's 2013 and you can make music anywhere... There are so many possibilities, my brain is overloading on them all. I just need to wait, think about things
6762-498: Is to make things that last, that are hard to destroy, see it in stone. (...) This is 3 years in the making and there is so much I'm excited to share with all you strangers. Love". The jewelry company, which has already collaborated with Prada , cites inspiration from "childhood obsessions" and "heritage as a fantasy". On December 25, 2021, Ocean released a new 9-minute untitled song on his Beats 1 radio show Blonded Radio featuring music contribution from Cory Henry . In June 2022, it
6900-566: The Grammy Awards , stating "that institution certainly has nostalgic importance... It just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down." Blonde was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 87, based on 38 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of
7038-555: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among other publications, Time named it the best album of 2016. Metacritic named it one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year by music publications. In 2020, Pitchfork named it the best album of the 2010s and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 79 on their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . On February 21, 2013, Ocean confirmed that he had started work on his next studio album, which he confirmed would be another concept album. He revealed that he
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#17330848653377176-602: The Triple J radio station. Tame Impala's tours in 2008 included supports for You Am I , The Black Keys , Yeasayer and MGMT , as well as performances at Southbound Festival , Meredith Music Festival and Falls Festival , and national headline tours in support of their EP. Tours in 2009 included a sold-out six-date "Skeleton Tiger" national headline tour and a five-date UK tour (including Nevereverland UK), as well as performances at V Festival . Tame Impala appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 list in 2008—their first appearance on
7314-574: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette . He stayed there for a brief time before dropping out to focus on his music career. In 2006, Ocean moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career, working at various fast-food and service jobs to support himself. In less than three years, he established himself as a songwriter under the name Lonny Breaux. After getting a songwriting deal, Ocean wrote songs for artists including Justin Bieber , Beyonce , John Legend , and Brandy . Ocean later said of his work at
7452-489: The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. On August 20, 2016, Ocean released a 360-page magazine, Boys Don't Cry , alongside his second album Blonde . The fashion and automobile-themed publication contains the photo projects from Wolfgang Tillmans , Viviane Sassen , Tyrone Lebon, Ren Hang , Harley Weir, Michael Mayren and Ocean himself. Four months later, British magazine Print published another photowork from Frank Ocean. On May 1, 2017, Ocean attended annual Met Gala as
7590-446: The 2012 J Award for Australian Album of the Year. It was the second time Tame Impala had won the award, after also winning it for their debut album, Innerspeaker , in 2010. They are the first band to win the J Award more than once. In January 2013, Lonerism was selected by Rolling Stone for the 2012 Album of the Year award after the band also won the award in 2011 for Innerspeaker . It
7728-491: The 2018 Mad Cool Festival in Spain, the first live music show the band agreed to play in 2018. Tame Impala also played a headline set at London's Citadel Festival in July 2018. In July 2018, during an interview with Beats 1 anchor host Matt Wilkinson, Parker confirmed for the first time that he had begun working on a new Tame Impala album, adding that he was "ready to play some other songs live" and expressing an interest to headline
7866-534: The Beatles' song " Here, There and Everywhere ", while "Close to You" incorporates a Stevie Wonder sample. Guest vocalist André 3000 contributes a rapid rap verse on "Solo (Reprise)" which has been described as the album's only overt guest feature. In a 2022 interview, André revealed the song was recorded in Austin, Texas years before the album's release and originally featured a hip hop instrumental, before being replaced with
8004-542: The Creator reinvigorated Ocean's songwriting. In late 2009, he met Tricky Stewart , who helped him sign a writing contract with Def Jam Recordings . Ocean felt neglected by the label, and began working on a mixtape on his own without their input. On February 16, 2011, Ocean self-released the resulting mixtape , Nostalgia, Ultra online for free. The mixtape received critical acclaim. The mixtape focuses on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary. NPR 's Andrew Noz said Ocean's songwriting
8142-446: The Creator's music video for the single " She ", from Tyler's debut studio album Goblin (2011). His first performance was in collaboration with Odd Future at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he later joined them for their first tour across the east coast of the United States. On May 19, 2011, Ocean's record label Def Jam announced its plans to re-release Nostalgia, Ultra as an EP . The single " Novacane "
8280-615: The Grass festival, which was followed by a European Tour in July (including an appearance at the Reading Festival ) and a national Australian tour in October. In November they returned to the UK and Europe for a fifteen date tour, including their largest London headline show to date which was attended by Noel Gallagher , Tom Meighan , Sergio Pizzorno , Noel Fielding , Alexa Chung and Alison Mosshart ,
8418-417: The J Award for Album of the Year. Tame Impala's second album, Lonerism , was released in 2012 and was mixed by Dave Fridmann . Parker said that Lonerism "represents a departure from his previous work by incorporating an expanded sonic palette, more emotional song writing, and a more pronounced narrative perspective". It was created in a similar set up as Innerspeaker , whereby Parker wrote and recorded
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#17330848653378556-416: The US Billboard 200 and recorded 276,000 album-equivalent units , including 232,000 copies of the album sold. The songs on the album were collectively streamed more than 65.4 million times, second behind only the streams for Views by Drake during that week. Forbes estimated that Blonde earned Ocean nearly one million in profits after one week of availability, attributing this to him releasing
8694-620: The United Kingdom, and recorded sales of 232,000 copies (275,000 with album-equivalent units) in its first week. Rather than going on a typical promotional tour playing radio festivals and appearing on television shows, Ocean spent a month after the release of Blonde , traveling to countries such as China, Japan and France. He also chose not to submit Blonde for consideration at the Grammy Awards , stating "that institution certainly has nostalgic importance; it just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down." Time ranked it as
8832-612: The Year . Parker won the APRA Award for Song of the Year 2016 for Currents ' first track, " Let It Happen ". The fourth studio album, The Slow Rush , was released on 14 February 2020. At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards , Tame Impala won five awards. The origins of Tame Impala can be found in the Perth music scene. Musician Kevin Parker played in a number of bands, one being the Dee Dee Dums,
8970-521: The Year", "Best Rock Album", Engineer of the Year" and "Producer of the Year" for The Slow Rush , as well as "Best Group". In October 2021, the band announced that a deluxe box set edition of The Slow Rush would be released in February 2022. In March 2021, the band's 2012 song "Elephant", from the album Lonerism , was covered by the Australian children's music group The Wiggles for triple j 's Like
9108-480: The album independently and as a limited exclusive release on iTunes and Apple Music. Blonde has generated 404 million on-demand audio streams for its songs in the US through February 9, 2017, according to Nielsen Music. The album has earned 620,000 album-equivalent units, 348,000 of which were copies sold. On July 9, 2018, Blonde was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Notes Sample credits Credits are adapted from
9246-516: The album as "cerebral, non-macho, boundary-free R&B." The Guardian tentatively likened Blonde to a collection of loose sketches and compared its "lush and atmospheric" tracks to experimental and texture-driven albums such as Radiohead 's Kid A (2000) and Big Star 's Third (1974), writing that "the tone is muted and introspective, full of spectral guitar and lacking not just hefty beats but any kind of percussion at all." Discussing its musical eclecticism, Rolling Stone wrote that "this
9384-456: The album on a CD included with each cover, the covers also appear in the magazine, the first cover—which is part of a collection of pictures called "I'm a Morning Person"—was taken in Berlin , Germany, by Wolfgang Tillmans , whose song "Device Control" was sampled on the songs "Device Control" and "Higgs" on Endless and the alternate cover (which does not appear in the magazine, however, it is one of
9522-448: The album was slated to feature the aforementioned "Memrise". In February 2016, Ocean was featured on Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo on the track " Wolves " along with Vic Mensa and Sia . A month later, the song was re-edited by West, and Ocean's part was separated and listed on the track list as its own song titled " Frank's Track ". In July 2016, he hinted at a possible second album with an image on his website pointing to
9660-598: The album with his 2012 Summer Tour, which featured final appearances at the Coachella and Lollapalooza festivals. At the 2013 Brit Awards , Ocean won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist . On May 28, 2013, Ocean announced the You're Not Dead ... 2013 Tour; a fourteen-date European and Canadian tour that began on June 16, 2013, in Munich . He had been scheduled to perform at
9798-438: The album's liner notes. Production and arrangement Musicians Technical personnel Design Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux ; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and
9936-411: The album's unconventional and progressive sounds. Critics also complimented the album for challenging the conventions of R&B and pop music. Supported by its lead single " Nikes ", the album debuted at number one in several countries, including the United States. It earned first week sales of 275,000 with album-equivalent units in the US, with 232,000 being pure sales, and was certified platinum by
10074-490: The album. One week later, on 29 April 2015, Kevin Parker held an AMA on Reddit , where he provoked fans to ask him to release a new song, then responding with "Disciples", which became the first promotional single for Currents . On 7 May 2015, the band announced that the album would be released on 17 July 2015 and released the third official single, " Eventually ". The record ended up being the best selling one in their discography, with 1.3 million copies sold worldwide. During
10212-455: The alternate covers of the magazine) appears to have been shot by Viviane Sassen in Tokyo, Japan, and was taken as part of a collection of other photographs, which appears in the "Foxface" collection of pictures. The magazines were free and were available to one per person. Later in the day, the album was released exclusively on the iTunes Store and Apple Music. However, the track list differed from
10350-459: The backing band. On 10 October, the band was scheduled to headline the first night of the annual Desert Daze festival in its new location in Moreno Beach, but had to cut their set short after three songs due to inclement weather. On 31 October, rapper Theophilus London released a new single in collaboration with Tame Impala under the moniker of "Theo Impala". On 2 January 2019, Tame Impala
10488-607: The band at in 2008. As a farewell gesture, the band played a cover of Outkast 's " Prototype ". Lonerism received a 2014 Grammy Award nomination in December 2013 in the Best Alternative Music Album category. "Be Above It", the first track on the album, is featured in the 2019 movie Waves . This includes the studio version, the live version from the Live Versions album and the "Erol Alkan Rework" version. It
10626-509: The band then went on to the United States and Canada for twenty headline dates including sold-out shows in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They also received four 2010 ARIA Music Awards nominations which include, "Album of the Year" and "Best Rock Album" for Innerspeaker , "Best Group" and also "Breakthrough Artist". On 29 November 2010, Innerspeaker won Australian youth-oriented radio network Triple J's highest honour, winning
10764-602: The best album of 2016 on its year-end list. Forbes estimated that Blonde earned Ocean nearly one million in profits after one week of availability, attributing this to him releasing the album independently and as a limited exclusive release on iTunes and Apple Music. On July 9, 2018, Blonde was certified platinum by the RIAA. On February 21, 2017, Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris announced his single " Slide ", in which Ocean and hip-hop trio Migos were featured. The single
10902-450: The best album of the year in the HMV's Poll of Polls . It also earned Ocean six Grammy Award nominations and was credited by some writers for moving the R&B genre in a different, more challenging direction. Considered as Ocean's first commercial release on a traditional record label, Channel Orange featured unconventional songs that were noted for their storytelling and social commentary, and
11040-577: The big-box festival bubble, Parker's discography seems factory-made for both a crowd of thousands and a chill night alone with a vibe-heavy playlist" and that "his music embodies the technology-driven sense of loneliness of this decade better than any of his peers". " The Less I Know the Better " was voted number one in Triple J's Hottest 100 of the Decade on 14 March 2020. This was the highest ranking for Tame Impala in
11178-486: The cover of the publication The Fader , in its 75th issue. Ocean released the cover art for his debut studio album's lead single , titled "Thinkin Bout You", revealing the song would be released to digital retailers on April 10, 2012. However, a month earlier, a re-mastered version of the song had already leaked. About the prospective single he said: "It succinctly defines me as an artist for where I am right now and that
11316-420: The cover of the publication The FADER , in its 82nd issue. On 18 May 2013, it was announced via Facebook that Allbrook would leave the band to focus on other musical endeavours, and that Cam Avery of Pond and The Growl would take his place. Allbrook played his final gig with the band on their last Australian tour date of 2013 at Perth's Belvoir Amphitheatre, the same venue that Allbrook played his first gig with
11454-531: The critical consensus. Mojo reviewer Andy Cowan called it "a beguiling, meandering sprawl that rewards total immersion", while Tara Joshi deemed Blonde a "fully conceptualised, curated personal vision" and "a sublime and largely impressive album" in her review for The Quietus . In Rolling Stone , Jonah Weiner described the album as "by turns oblique, smolderingly direct, forlorn, funny, dissonant and gorgeous: marvel of digital-age psychedelic pop." Writing for The Guardian , Tim Jonze hailed Blonde as "one of
11592-403: The details of Ocean's interpersonal lyrics occasionally relatable but more often "specific to his social status". Neil McCormick was somewhat less enthusiastic. In The Daily Telegraph , he wrote that Blonde "should be celebrated as part of a generational shift away from the obvious in pop", while finding the record to be "meandering, contemplative and introverted", suggesting that it would be
11730-458: The digital version of the album, with an extended version of " Nikes " featuring Japanese rapper KOHH . "Nikes" was officially released as the album's lead single on August 20, 2016. Rather than going on a typical promotional tour playing radio festivals and appearing on television shows, Ocean spent a month after the release of Blonde , traveling to countries such as China, Japan and France. He also chose not to submit Blonde for consideration at
11868-504: The festival in 2023. From March 25, 2020, Ocean's website started shipping the vinyl singles for " Dear April " and " Cayendo ", as well as the previously released "In My Room", although many reported later having issues in receiving vinyl orders or receiving refunds for canceled orders. Remixes of the two tracks had previously been teased during his club night DJ set PrEP+. The vinyl issues and exclusivity encouraged listeners to leak these two songs onto sites like Twitter and SoundCloud , and
12006-1037: The festival's second weekend, citing a leg injury. Ocean's music has been characterized by music writers as idiosyncratic in style. His music generally includes the electronic keyboard , often performed by Ocean himself, and is backed by a subdued rhythm section in the production. His compositions are often midtempo , feature unconventional melodies, and occasionally have an experimental song structure . In critical commentaries, he has been characterised as an " avant-garde R&B artist", and an " avant-soul singer ". Steven Hyden called him "an introspective psych-soul balladeer". In Ocean's songwriting, Jon Pareles of The New York Times observes "open echoes of self-guided, innovative R&B songwriters like Prince , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Maxwell , Erykah Badu and particularly R. Kelly and his way of writing melodies that hover between speech and song, asymmetrical and syncopated." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone calls him
12144-554: The first night of OVO Fest on August 4, 2013; however he was forced to cancel his appearance due to a small vocal cord injury. The first night of the music festival was subsequently cancelled and James Blake was booked to appear during the second night as Ocean's replacement. Ocean appeared on John Mayer 's album Paradise Valley , as a featured artist on a song called "Wildfire". In February 2013, Ocean confirmed that he had started work on his second studio album, which he confirmed would be another concept album. He revealed that he
12282-431: The flow of linear time by prompting us to dive deep into our own memories and feel something indelibly real". Certain songs on Channel Orange allude to Ocean's experience with unrequited love . Music critics have credited Ocean for pioneering alternative R&B , approaching R&B music differently to his contemporaries with an idiosyncratic style. Both Insider and The Wall Street Journal regarded Ocean as
12420-427: The forthcoming album. They were the musical guest for Saturday Night Live on 30 March, with host Sandra Oh . On the show, the band performed "Patience" and a new song, " Borderline ", which was released 12 April. On 25 October, Tame Impala revealed the title of their fourth studio album, The Slow Rush . Three days later on 28 October, they released the song " It Might Be Time ", and on 3 December, they released
12558-681: The help of Dominic Simper (bass) and Jay Watson (drums), and they began playing at local gigs. The signing to Modular was soon followed by the release of Tame Impala's self-titled EP in September 2008. It reached the number 1 position on the Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) Chart and number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart , with three songs—"Desire Be, Desire Go", " Half Full Glass of Wine ", and "Skeleton Tiger"—receiving national radio airplay on
12696-418: The internet. It was later revealed the song was a reference track , written by Ocean, for Roc Nation artist Bridget Kelly 's debut studio album. Kelly renamed the song 'Thinking About Forever'. In September 2011, a music video directed by High5Collective for Ocean's version was released, yet the song still appeared on Kelly's debut EP Every Girl . In August 2011, Frank Ocean made his first appearance on
12834-429: The introspective sound universal and transcendent [which] is why he's one of the defining artists of our time." Jacob Shamsian of Business Insider said that Ocean "isn't just one of the most important artists in pop, he's one of the most important artists in all of music." In a GQ article titled "Why Frank Ocean is a musical icon", Jon Savage described Ocean as a "consummate contemporary artist in every sense who
12972-513: The list—with "Half Full Glass of Wine" at number 75. The song also appeared on the Hottest 100 compilation album. Tame Impala's debut single, " Sundown Syndrome ", was recorded at Toerag Studios in London, UK, with recording engineer Liam Watson, while the band was in the UK in March 2009. "Sundown Syndrome" was premiered by Richard Kingsmill on his "2009" show on Triple J on Sunday 10 May 2009. The song
13110-508: The majority of the album by himself at his home in Perth, Western Australia. Parts of the recording also occurred in Parker's home studio in France. While in France, Parker produced and played on the self-titled dream pop album by Melody's Echo Chamber , the project of French singer Melody Prochet . As a result, one of the tracks on Lonerism is titled "Endors Toi", which roughly translates from French to English as "fall asleep". The album cover
13248-907: The most dominant artist of the 2010s decade. He was included in the 2013 edition of the Time ' s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and the 2017 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 . Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote, Frank Ocean has been one of the more fascinating figures in contemporary music since his early-2010s arrival. A singer and songwriter whose artful output has defied rigid classification as R&B, he has nonetheless pushed that genre forward with seemingly offhanded yet imaginatively detailed narratives in which he has alternated between yearning romantic and easygoing braggart. Culture critic Nelson George asserts that, along with Miguel , Ocean has "staked out ground where [he is] not competing with those hit-driven [commercial R&B] acts" and
13386-559: The most intriguing and contrary records ever made". He said that "what originally appear to be Blonde ' s flaws – its loose ends and ambiguities – end up as its strengths," concluding that "what gradually emerges is a record of enigmatic beauty, intoxicating depth and intense emotion." According to Pitchfork journalist Ryan Dombal, while Channel Orange had boasted a more eclectic range of styles, Blonde showed Ocean expressing his romantic, philosophical, and melancholic ideas and emotions over an especially spare musical backdrop, giving
13524-446: The past to another man. Instead, on July 4, 2012, he published the open letter on his Tumblr blog recounting unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. He used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his mother and other friends, saying, "I don't know what happens now, and that's alright. I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore... I feel like
13662-399: The record an intimacy that "attracts the ear, bubbles the brain, raises the flesh". In Vice , Robert Christgau admired Ocean's reliance on his "expressive and capable but unathletic voice", the candid stories explored on "Good Guy" and "Facebook Story", and more aggressive songs such as " Nights ". "As on Channel Orange , however, his angst is a luxury of leisure", Christgau wrote, finding
13800-508: The record label. Before the visual album's release on Apple Music , Ocean had already begun making efforts to part ways with Def Jam, who signed the artist in 2009. He describes his negotiations with the label as a "seven-year chess game", while adding that he had replaced many of his representatives (including his lawyer and manager ) during the process, as well as having to buy back all of his master recordings that previously belonged to Def Jam . At midnight Pacific time on August 20, 2016,
13938-491: The release date for Boys Don't Cry . That date also turned out to be inaccurate, though in a Reddit AMA session, his collaborator Malay said that Ocean is a perfectionist, constantly tweaking things, and that his art cannot be rushed. On August 18 and 19, 2016, the live stream was accompanied with music and at midnight an Apple Music link was directed to a project called Endless . Endless would be Ocean's last album with Def Jam Recordings to fulfill his contract with
14076-420: The release date for Boys Don't Cry . The video was revealed to be promotion for Endless , a 45-minute-long visual album that began streaming on Apple Music on August 19, 2016. The day after the release of Endless , Ocean posted a new picture on his website advertising four pop-up shops in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and London. These shops contained hundreds of magazines, with three different covers and
14214-452: The same 30 April 2015 Reddit AMA, Parker said: "Up until recently, from all of Tame Impala's record sales outside of Australia I had received.... zero dollars. Someone high up spent the money before it got to me. I may never get that money." In October 2017, a collector's edition of Currents was announced. Released on 17 November, it included three B-sides and two remixes. By the end of 2017, Tame Impala announced that they agreed to play
14352-500: The same library card photo reading "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY2016". On August 1, 2016, a live video hosted by Apple Music showing an empty hall was launched on the website boysdontcry.co. The website also featured a new design and the video marked the first update on the website since a "date due" post from July. On August 1, 2016, a video appeared that showed Ocean woodworking and sporadically playing instrumentals on loop. That same day, many news outlets reported that August 5, 2016, could be
14490-607: The same sentiment that I have towards genres of music, I have towards a lot of labels and boxes and shit." Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker . In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parker (vocals, guitar, synthesiser), Dominic Simper (guitar, synthesiser), Jay Watson (synthesiser, vocals, guitar), Cam Avery (bass guitar, vocals, synthesiser), and Julien Barbagallo (drums, vocals). The group has
14628-448: The second episode of Blonded Radio , as well as playing an alternate version featuring American rapper ASAP Rocky . The song was his first solo effort to be released after Blonde and Endless in 2016. On subsequent episodes of Blonded Radio in April, Ocean premiered " Biking " featuring Jay-Z and Tyler, the Creator , "Lens", as well as an alternate version featuring Travis Scott , and
14766-489: The singer was working with a string of artists such as Happy Perez (whom he worked with on nostalgia, ULTRA ), Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro , while producers Hit-Boy , Rodney Jerkins and Danger Mouse were also said to be on board. On November 29, 2014, Ocean released a snippet of a new song supposedly from his upcoming follow-up to Channel Orange called "Memrise" on his official Tumblr page. The Guardian described
14904-417: The single " Posthumous Forgiveness ". The album was released on 14 February 2020 and features 12 tracks that were recorded in Los Angeles and in Parker's hometown of Fremantle, Australia. Josh Terry of Vice named Tame Impala his "Artist of the Decade" for the 2010s, writing, "No artist captured how genres cross-pollinated throughout the 2010s better than Tame Impala". He added, "In the age of streaming and
15042-408: The sole composer Ocean resists making a show of himself—resists the dope hook , the smart tempo, the transcendent falsetto itself." Ocean's lyrics deal with themes of love, longing, misgiving, and nostalgia. His debut single " Novacane " juxtaposes the numbness and artificiality of a sexual relationship with that of mainstream radio, while "Voodoo" merges themes of spirituality and sexuality, and
15180-442: The song as: "...a song which affirms that despite reportedly changing labels and management, he has maintained both his experimentation and sense of melancholy in the intervening years". On April 6, 2015, Ocean announced that his follow-up to Channel Orange would be released in July. The album was ultimately not released in July, with no explanation given for its delay. The publication was rumoured to be called Boys Don't Cry , and
15318-408: The song as: "a song which affirms that despite reportedly changing labels and management, he has maintained both his experimentation and sense of melancholy in the intervening years". Boys do cry, but I don't think I shed a tear for a good chunk of my teenage years. It's surprisingly my favorite part of life so far. Surprising, to me, because the current phase is what I was asking the cosmos for when I
15456-426: The sound of the new album, Parker said, "I'm gonna try to make it a bit more minimal this time; only use what's needed ... instead of a supreme pizza, where you just throw everything on". Watson added, "[It’s] probably gonna be less rock again and more electronic again, even more than the last one". Parker later stated that the inspiration behind the new polished sound of Tame Impala's third album came from listening to
15594-459: The stories to ourselves, we know the story, we're just seeing it in flashes overlaid". Blonde features an abstract, atmospheric sound in comparison to Ocean's previous work, and utilizes a variety of unconventional musical elements. Besides the Beatles and the Beach Boys, the album draws influences from Stevie Wonder . Additionally, the Beach Boys' de facto leader Brian Wilson is recognized as
15732-528: The time, "There was a point where I was composing for other people, and it might have been comfy to continue to do that and enjoy that income stream and the anonymity. But that's not why I moved away from school and away from family." He adopted the stage name Frank Ocean, getting the name from Frank Sinatra and the 1960s film Ocean's 11 , which Sinatra starred in. Soon after, he joined Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future , whom he had met in 2009. His friendship with Odd Future member Tyler,
15870-483: The two songs were officially released digitally on April 3. On August 8, 2021, Frank Ocean officially revealed his first fashion project, "Homer", initially announced by the singer in a Financial Times interview. In a Q&A sent in the press release, Homer was simply stated as "an independent American luxury company founded by Frank Ocean". In an Instagram story, Frank wrote: "This project has kept my mind moving and my imagination turning throughout it all. (...) My hope
16008-459: The whole wide world on her hands / she's got the whole wide world in her hands / he's got the whole wide world in his hands." According to Corbon Goble of Stereogum , the lyrical "moods" of "Voodoo" are indicative of Ocean's "sometimes-bleak, depressive lyrical tendencies", while MTV News writer Tirhakah Love such songs are among Ocean's most distinctive for how they transfigure the meaning behind short-term and long-term memory, and "disrupt
16146-572: The work of Brian Eno , and noted that Ocean often utilizes "acoustic and electric guitars over traditional synth and bass-heavy R&B." The Independent wrote that "one track bleeds languidly into another, as if we're listening to a long, stoned stream-of-consciousness," and described the album's sound as a "glitchy, miasmic brand of R&B." The Daily Telegraph noted Ocean's use of varispeed and Auto-Tune effects on his voice, while Greg Kot stated that he utilizes these audio processing devices to employ "two distinct voices, like characters in
16284-429: Was a father figure for Ocean after his father left the family. Lionel was a recovering drug addict and later served as a mentor at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He would take Ocean to these meetings, which was the inspiration behind Ocean's song "Crack Rock" from Channel Orange. He also gave him the nickname Lonny, which Frank Ocean still uses today. He died in 2010 and Frank Ocean dedicated
16422-455: Was a kid. In a personal letter which prefaced the Boys Don't Cry magazine, Ocean stated that he had been inspired by a photograph taken by the photography duo The Collaborationist of a young blonde girl in the back seat of a car. According to Jessica Haye of The Collaborationist, "It was more ambiguous in terms of gender and (Ocean) kind of placed his own experience onto the picture, so he brought
16560-906: Was also announced as album of the year by UK magazine NME . Additionally, Lonerism was voted number one overall by Rolling Stone , Triple J, NME , Filter , Urban Outfitters , FasterLouder and Obscure Sound's 2012 Album of the Year polls. Lonerism became the first Australian album to win NME's album of the year. "Elephant" and "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" appeared at numbers 7 and 9, respectively, in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2012 . The band began an international tour in 2012 through 2013, supported by The Growl . During this tour, they played major festivals such as Coachella and Sasquatch Festival , and appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon . For this tour, Watson switched from drums to keyboards, and Parker recruited Julien Barbagallo on drums. In September 2012, Tame Impala's first U.S. feature appeared on
16698-400: Was announced as a headliner for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival . They also headlined the 2020 Primavera Sound festival, making them only the second Australian act to do so. Around the same time, Parker announced that he expected to release a new album during that summer. On 21 March 2019, Tame Impala released the single " Patience " and teased new music on Instagram for
16836-467: Was announced that Ocean was in talks to direct his first feature film, with A24 producing. In October, Ocean revealed Homer Radio , a weekly Apple Music 1 broadcast described as a window of what plays around their office after hours. On January 10, 2023, Coachella announced Ocean would be headlining the festival on April 16 and 23, his first live performances since 2017. Ocean began his set nearly an hour after his scheduled start time on April 16 and
16974-475: Was bisexual in 1972. Channel Orange debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold 131,000 copies in its first week. The majority of its first-week sales were digital copies from iTunes, while approximately 3,000 of the sales were physical copies. On January 30, Channel Orange was certified gold by the RIAA. By September 2014, it had sold 621,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Ocean promoted
17112-505: Was canceled and refunds were provided. Ocean was set to headline at Coachella in October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the festival was initially postponed until October 9–11 and October 16–18, but in June, Riverside County public health officers announced it and Stagecoach had been cancelled altogether. In August 2021, Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett confirmed that Ocean will headline
17250-424: Was complete. However it is unknown when or if it will be released. Ocean's voice appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto V , as he plays himself hosting an in-game radio station called Blonded Los Santos 97.8 FM. He also lent the songs "Provider", " Ivy ", "Crack Rock", " Chanel ", "Nights" and "Pretty Sweet" to the game, and sings the radio station jingles. On February 14, 2018, Ocean released " Moon River ",
17388-546: Was forced to end the show early due to local curfew restrictions. The performance was widely criticized by both fans and music critics, especially for not being live-streamed on YouTube, like most of the other performances from the festival. No professional photographers were allowed in the audience and no merchandise was available to fans. The effort Ocean gave to his performance was regarded as mediocre by many and disappointing for an artist that had not performed live music in six years. He would go on to cancel his appearance at
17526-617: Was included on the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated film The Kids Are All Right . "Half Full Glass of Wine" was used in HBO 's popular television series Entourage as the closing song for an episode. Tame Impala appeared at the Australian/New Zealand Big Day Out festival in early 2010, performing alongside bands such as Muse , The Mars Volta , Kasabian and Rise Against . Tame Impala's debut album Innerspeaker
17664-505: Was nearly finished. In June 2014, Billboard reported that the singer was working with a string of artists such as Happy Perez (whom he worked with on Nostalgia, Ultra ), Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro , while producers Hit-Boy , Rodney Jerkins and Danger Mouse were also said to be on board. On November 29, 2014, Ocean released a snippet of a new song supposedly from his upcoming follow-up to Channel Orange called "Memrise" on his official Tumblr page. The Guardian described
17802-485: Was released in July 2009 on vinyl, and digitally with a cover of " Remember Me " by DJ Blue Boy . The band then headlined the inaugural "Rottofest" in August 2009, an annual comedy, film and music festival held on Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia. Following Rottofest, they embarked on a national tour through September and October 2009 in support of the single. "Remember Me" appeared at number 78 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2009 . "Sundown Syndrome"
17940-442: Was released independently. His debut studio album , the eclectic Channel Orange (2012), incorporated elements of R&B and soul music . At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards , the album was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album ; its lead single, " Thinkin Bout You ", was nominated for Record of the Year . He was named by Time as one of the world's most influential people in 2013. After
18078-413: Was released on 21 May 2010. In the UK the official release date was 28 June, but iTunes accidentally made it available for purchase on 12 May. The album was released in the United States on 8 June to general and critical acclaim. Pitchfork named it Best New Music. In an interview with Triple J talking about the album's nomination for the J Award , Parker stated that they had secretly been recording
18216-449: Was released on 26 July 2012. The album was released on 5 October in Australia, 8 October in the United Kingdom and 9 October in the United States. StillinRock described it as the best album of the year. The album features the songs "Apocalypse Dreams" and "Elephant", which are some of the first songs that Parker has co-written with Watson. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" was released as the second single. In November 2012, Lonerism won
18354-600: Was released to iTunes in May 2011, and the EP originally was set to be released the next month, but was delayed. In June 2011, Ocean revealed that he would work on the upcoming Kanye West and Jay-Z collaborative album, Watch the Throne . Ocean co-wrote and featured on two tracks: " No Church in the Wild " and " Made in America ". On July 28, 2011, a song titled " Thinkin Bout You ", leaked on
18492-447: Was released two days later and is from Harris' fifth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 . Ocean and Migos are credited with featured vocals and Ocean and Migos members, Quavo and Offset are credited songwriting, while production is handled by Harris. The other Migos member, Takeoff is not in the song. The song was released on February 23, 2017, and featured on the first episode of Ocean's Beats 1 radio show, Blonded Radio . It
18630-560: Was rumored to be called Boys Don't Cry , and was slated to feature the aforementioned "Memrise", although the track did not make the final track listing. On July 2, 2016, Ocean hinted at a possible third album with an image on his website pointing to a July release date. The image shows a library card labeled Boys Don't Cry with numerous stamps, implying various due dates. The dates begin with July 2, 2015, and conclude with July 2016, and November 13, 2016. Ocean's brother, Ryan Breaux, further suggested this release with an Instagram caption of
18768-595: Was the aim," he said of the follow-up to his acclaimed Nostalgia, Ultra . "It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story and all kinds of sonic goodness." Perhaps this is R&B's Ziggy Stardust moment, where the controversy and publicity surrounding an artist's sexuality and the brilliance of his latest album combine to give his career unstoppable momentum. In 2012, Ocean released his debut studio album Channel Orange to universal acclaim from critics, who later named it
18906-472: Was working with Tyler, the Creator , Pharrell Williams , and Danger Mouse on the record. He later stated that he was being influenced by The Beach Boys and The Beatles . He stated he was interested in collaborating with Tame Impala and King Krule and that he would record part of the album in Bora Bora . On March 10, 2014, the song "Hero" was made available for free download on SoundCloud . The song
19044-554: Was working with Tyler, the Creator , Pharrell Williams , and Danger Mouse on the record. He later stated that he was influenced by the Beach Boys and the Beatles . He also stated that he was interested in collaborating with Tame Impala and King Krule and wanted to record the album in Bora Bora . Ocean ultimately began recording at New York's Electric Lady Studios and, after a period of writer's block , recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios in addition to various other studios. In April 2014, Ocean stated that his second album
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