On June 8, 2012, a single from his debut studio album Channel Orange, entitled "Pyramids", was made available for download on Ocean's Tumblr...
On June 8, 2012, a single from his debut studio album Channel Orange, entitled "Pyramids", was made available for download on Ocean's Tumblr blog. On July 10, 2012, Ocean made his debut television performance with "Bad Religion" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The same day, Ocean released his album one week ahead of schedule for digital download on iTunes and free streaming on his Tumblr blog.All other forms of distribution for the album became available on July 17, 2012. On September 6, 2012, Frank Ocean performed a stripped-down, minimal version of his Channel Orange single, Thinkin Bout You, at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards which was held at the Staples Center arena at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles.Channel Orange won the Album of the Year award at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards.The album also earned Ocean nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards in the categories of Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Record of the Year for "Thinkin Bout You". He won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Ocean has written songs for Justin Bieber, John Legend, Brandy,[14] and Beyoncé Knowles.[18][19] He has also worked with artists such as Nas[20][21] and Pharrell Williams.[22] On February 18, 2011, Ocean released his first mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, to critical acclaim.[14][17] The mixtape focuses on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary.[14] NPR's Andrew Noz said Ocean's songwriting is "smart and subtle...setting him apart from the ... Less
