Today sees Frank Ocean, aka the American music star on everyone's lips, release his major-label debut record Channel Orange. And ELLE predicts this one to go straight to number one.

After a surprise release of the 17-track album on iTunes two weeks ago, the download alone has already hit number two on the US Billboard, making it one of the most talked about records of the year.

Not that the Louisiana-born Ocean minds doing things differently. Early last year, he released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra independently and had subsequent hits with Swim Good and Novacane.

The underground success of Nostalgia, Ultra led to Ocean appearing on Jay Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne collaboration record. And he also has written for Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and John Legend.

The 24-year-old also attracted attention earlier this month when he posted a letter on his Tumblr site, talking about his first love, a man, making him one of very few openly gay rappers.

Ocean first made waves as one of Odd Future, the hip hop collective from Los Angeles. Although his style of soulful rap takes more influence from the likes of Marvin Gaye and Usher than fellow Odd Future cohort Tyler, the Creator's Wu Tang Clan style.

Channel Orange is all dreamy, pared-down hip hop, putting him more in line with Kanye West (listen to the ten-minute epic Pyramids and you’ll see what we mean). And the epic Bad Religion is a contender for track of the year for its storming beat mixed with heart-wrenching soul vocals.

And if the thousands of screaming women at his Coachella appearance earlier this year is anything to go by, this boy has a stellar future ahead of him. If ever there was a one to watch, Frank Ocean is it.