Is it a mirage, or is Frank Ocean actually teasing a comeback? On Tuesday, an image circulated online of a brown billboard that seemingly popped up on the route into the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert reading: “KIKI BOY 2025.” Fans were quick to point out the connection between the sighting and the elusive musician’s supposed private Instagram account, @kikiboyyyyyyy.
According to Instagram, the account was launched in March 2025. It only has eight followers, one being Ocean’s public profile, @Blonded. The others include SZA and their shared collaborator Michael Uzowuru, a credited producer on tracks from Lana and Blonde, among others. Sean Matsukawa, an audio engineer and producer who has worked with SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, and more, also follows the account. The emerging musician girlsweetvoiced is a Kiki Boy follower, too, along with the more mysterious account @archivedsolemn.
The artist billboards that pop up in the lead up to Coachella often establish a sense of optimism for the performances in store for the weekend. Laufey, for example, has one this year that reads: “Still struggling with my name? Visit SayLaufey.com to learn.” Charli XCX is teasing her performance with a Brat billboard that has the title of her blockbuster album scratched out with black ink. Clairo’s is a play on her album title, too, reading: “I got Charmed at Coachella.”
When Ocean last appeared at Coachella, there were no winking billboards preceding his performance. He headlined the annual festival in 2023. His weekend one set marked his first live performance in six years after his 2020 Coachella performance was cancelled due to Covid-19. His weekend two set never happened.
Ocean took the stage about an hour after his scheduled performance time, settling in the middle of the stage with his back partially turned toward the crowd. He didn’t interact with them much, but did tease: “I want to talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album… Not that there’s not a new album.” The small detail about the awaited follow-up to Ocean’s latest album Blonde, released almost nine years ago, was swallowed up in the criticism and confusion around his Coachella set as a whole.
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Ocean’s performance was cut short to oblige with the festival’s strict curfew, and his weekend two performance was cancelled a week later. “It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos,” he said at the time. “It isn’t what I intended to show, but I enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”
It was said that the musician suffered a leg injury at the festival during weekend one and was advised not to perform the following week due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg. It was also reported that Ocean had plans for an elaborate stage set involving 120 performers skating on ice, but that ultimately fell apart. “There were a lot of production [elements] that Frank planned that at the last minute didn’t pan out,” a source told Rolling Stone at the time. “That threw everything off, so it was a scramble after that.”
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While fans who were present for the set, or had plans to see him the following weekend, were disappointed, many extended grace to Ocean. On stage that weekend, the musician spoke about his late brother, Ryan Breaux, who died in a car accident in 2020. “My brother and I came to this festival a lot,” he said. “I know [Ryan] would be so excited to be here with all of us. I want to say thank you for the support and the years and the love all this time. Now I’ll get back to the songs.”
