Tracklist:
01 Start

02 Thinkin Bout You

03 Fertilizer

04 Sierra Leone

05 Sweet Life

06 Not Just Money

07 Super Rich Kids (f. Earl Sweatshirt)

08 Pilot Jones

09 Crack Rock

10 Pyramids

11 Lost

12 White (f. John Mayer)

13 Monks

14 Bad Religion

15 Pink Matter (f. André 3000)

16 Forrest Gump

17 End



Physical Edition Bonus Track:

18 Golden Girls(FT. Tyler, the Creator)




The album is a follow-up to his critically acclaimed mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra (2011). Ocean had initially been frustrated with major record label Def Jam, for failing to release Nostalgia, Ultra and tensions only rose after Ocean released the mixtape online for free in February 2011, though his relationship with the label was subsequently repaired, and a release date of spring 2012 was tentatively set. Ocean also made contributions to Kanye West and Jay-Z's 2011 album Watch the Throne and wrote the song "I Miss You" for Beyoncé Knowles. By December, Ocean had finished writing Channel Orange.] He later said of the album and its development in an interview for Rap-Up, "It succinctly defines me as an artist for where I am right now and that was the aim. It’s about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story and all kinds of sonic goodness."
Prior to its release, news outlets and music critics reviewing Channel Orange raised questions about certain songs' lyrics and Ocean's sexuality. The lyrics addressed a male object of love and deviated from Ocean's previous songs about heterosexual relationships. On July 4, Ocean used his Tumblr blog to publish an open letter he had originally written in December 2011 recounting his unrequited feelings for a man when he was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. The letter was received with praise and support from Def Jam, other recording artists, and cultural commentators. In the letter, Ocean also remarked on writing Channel Orange after years of emotional struggle following the experience, stating "I wrote to keep myself busy and sane. I wanted to create worlds that were rosier than mine. I tried to channel overwhelming emotions."