Frank Ocean's Grammy performance of "Forrest Gump" was no doubt meant to be one for the books. Perfectly inserted just before last year's Album of the Year winner Adele presented her 2013 predecessor, it's obvious producers had high hopes for that prime real estate in the lineup. The positioning was likely supposed to be great for the wider public's impression of Ocean, a critical darling and mega-talent whose Album of the Year-nominated channel ORANGE was six digits behind his fellow nominees in sales totals. But that didn't happen.
Although the creative running-in-yellow-tux visuals caught viewers' attention, the melody was off and it seemed Ocean couldn't quite hear what was going on—a fact he later confirmed. (Granted, "Forrest Gump" probably wasn't a big stadium-sized song compared to others that could have been selected off ORANGE.)
For what it's worth, the singer on Monday released a video from his rehearsal of that performance. On the flip side, the First Lady this weekend revealed that she and the family listen to Ocean's music. On Sunday, a channel ORANGE leftover track, "Eyes Like Sky," also leaked, showcasing more of the sounds that fans have come to love—which should reassure Ocean, since he's already knee-deep into his next album. So it's safe to safe to say that he'll be just fine.
Watch the rehearsal below: