Turner is a junior magazine journalism and elementary education double major and can be reached at [email protected]

Unrequited love. Everyone has experienced it. The pain. The hurt. The tears. For many, the feeling cannot be compared. Frank Ocean is no different. What is different is the unfiltered truth that he has packaged into 17 songs; better known as “Channel Orange.”

In his debut album, Ocean uses his big soul voice to enlighten listeners with the many stories of love lost in a way that is simply divine. Once you start listening, you won’t be able to stop. From testimonials of fiercely intimate relationships (“Pink Matter”), to the thrilling fantasies lying inside high-class strip clubs (“Pyramids”), Ocean fills his album with double and triple entendres leaving the listener to make its own conclusions.

Lust, love and drugs are weaved in and out of each of his songs. With so many characters involved, it’s hard to differentiate reality from the drug-induced world within Ocean’s mind. But because pain is shown in so many different realms, listeners can truly appreciate the tales.

About a week prior to Def Jam’s release of the highly anticipated album, word of Ocean’s muddled sexual orientation hit the press. The questions were quickly answered when Ocean divulged details of his first love — and how it was for a man. And although it was not mutual, the demons that followed were no less real. “Bad Religion” is his cry for help. The emotions in his words seep out of the track, leaving only the lingering essence of D’Angelo behind. “Channel Orange” is about coping. And the drugs we use to help along the way.