Frank Ocean exclusively releases new album “Blonde” on Apple Music

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two days after dropping a "visual album" called "Endless," Frank Ocean on Saturday, August 20 debuted his hotly anticipated album "Blond" — "Blonde" on Apple Music and iTunes — as a two-week windowed exclusive on Apple's streaming music service, AppleInsider said.

Ocean's sophomore effort, previously referred to as "Boys Don't Cry," follows up the well-received "Channel Orange" that won the R&B singer multiple Grammy nods and a win for Best Urban Contemporary Album of the Year in 2012.

Anticipation for Ocean's latest album reached fever pitch this week when the artist released the 45-minute visual album "Endless" on Thursday through Apple Music. Hours prior to today's streaming release, a music video for the track "Nikes" hit Apple's streaming service.

A veritable who's who of music icons are listed as contributors in the liner notes, including Andre 3000, James Blake, Beyoncé, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Kanye West and many more.

"Blonde" will remain an Apple Music exclusive for two weeks, while customers can purchase the album or individual tracks from iTunes. As a bonus, Beats 1 was streaming Ocean's album earlier today. In addition to digital availability, pop-up shops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and London handed out free copies of a "Boys Don't Cry" art magazine containing the 17-track "Blonde" album on CD, The New York Times reports.

"I had the time of my life making all of this. Thank you all. Especially those of you who never let me forget I had to finish. Which is basically every one of y'all," Ocean said on his official Tumblr page.