Performers experience a level of peer pressure that, unless you are a performer, it’s hard to understand.

Frank Ocean was set to headline Coachella on April 16, the last day of the first weekend, but felt the pressure of the event, leading to a performance many had issues with. Afterward, his scheduled performance during the second weekend of Coachella two weeks later was cancelled entirely.

Ocean is a 35-year-old alternative R&B artist who has won two Grammys and two studio albums listed on Rolling Stone’s 2020 “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

Ocean’s performance was highly anticipated due to his last performance being in 2017 at the Fall Festival in Helsinki, Finland. He was set to perform at Coachella in 2020, but the performance was canceled because of the pandemic.

He came out to perform an hour late, which caused his performance to be shortened due to Coachella’s strict enforcement of curfew.

People who attended the event felt disappointed, confused and angry. Thousands of people spent large amounts of money and attended the festival just to see Ocean. He also canceled his performance at weekend two entirely.

As a headliner performer, there is an expectation to have a performance that surpasses the previous performances. Concert-goers felt that they did not experience that at Coachella. But why is there this expectation and pressure? And is it fair towards artists like Ocean?

The official reason for Ocean’s rushed performance from his representative was that he fractured his leg. Fans noted his performance did not go as planned because he expressed onstage how Coachella was his brother’s favorite music festival, who passed away in 2020 in a car accident.

Ocean performed his song “Godspeed” during his first weekend performance. The song originally had the meaning of wishing a loved one good luck on a journey. But since his brother’s death, “Godspeed” has taken on a new meaning of trying to find closure after loss.

Performances in today’s time in every category must be seen as over the top. Production, instruments, lights, and sound. Top performances of voice and dance moves are expected as well.

Things to take into account for an artist is how pressure could affect a performance and what could be going on in their life. Ocean still performed regardless of his leg injury due to the immense pressure of almost 100,000 people attending his set.

The message behind fans’ disappointment is that regardless of circumstance, it’s an artist's job to be an excellent performer. I think that is unfair and dehumanizes performers. They are humans too, who have things going on in their lives. It could have been better to let Frank pull out of the show and perform on weekend two, to try to pull himself out of the hole he felt inside due to grief.

What could be done for performers, in general, is checking in if they are feeling ready to perform. There is pressure on them and they may not admit when they add not feeling up to it unless they feel they have the safe space to do so.

I think it’s respectable that Frank Ocean pulled out of performing on weekend two. He did what was best for his mental health. Even if he could give a good performance, he knew he could not give it his all.

“It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos,” Ocean said in a statement. “It isn't what I intended to show but I enjoy being out there and I'll see you soon.”

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