The Bachelor presents Listen to Your Heart, which is basically The Bachelor meets American Idol, so let’s hear what the contestants can do.
Listen to Your Heart, the latest spin-off of The Bachelor franchise, premieres tonight. ABC promises to “unite two of the most emotionally powerful forces in human life: music and love” and the bachelors and bachelorettes will “embarking on an incredible journey to find love through music” by “singing well-known songs, both individually and as couples, they will look to form attractions through the melodies, find and reveal their feelings and, ultimately, fall in love.”
Among the many questions to be answered, such “has Reality Steve spoiled this season?” (yes), two are at the top of our list: Will anyone (at home) watch? Can anyone (on the show) actually sing?
With no updates forthcoming on The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise, this could be the last bit of televised drama Bachelor Nation receives for the foreseeable future. (The drama going down on Instagram is another story.) Will that make fans more inclined to tune in than when they knew Clare’s season was on the horizon? Maybe, but it’s also still two damn hours and are any of us that bored?
Perhaps then, whether they tune in will depend on whether the musical gimmick is actually at all entertaining. If Listen to Your Heart is allegedly Bachelor meets American Idol, the entertainment value is at least in part contingent on the contestants musical abilities. So let’s see what Listen to Your Heart is working with.
A playlist preview for Bachelor Listen to Your Heart
Bekah Purifoy, 25
Washington, D.C.
Musical Theater
Bekah doesn’t seem to have much of a presence on YouTube which means we are off to a tough start here, but maybe that’s a virtue of her musical theater background and not being an aspiring singer-songwriter.
In any case, this may or may not be her.
Brandon Mills, 34
Nashville, Tennessee
American Folk Pop
Ol’ Brandon is putting a lot of something on his voice and the number one thing I want the Listen to Your Heart music people to do is to tell him to do less and let’s see what happens.
“This is a song I wrote called ‘Frontlines.’ Just got back from Iraq and I was thinking about the founding fathers.” As you do.
Bri Stauss, 28
Provo, Utah
Pop
Bri has a nice enough voice, but I cannot handle these candles and flower crowns. The aesthetic!! It’s something.
Cheyenne Arnell, 23
Lawndale, California
R&B
Solid pipes, best I can tell. The medley of her lip-syncing to her own music on a roof is embarrassing but not the most embarrassing thing we’ll see associated with this show.
Chris Watson, 30
Los Angeles, California
Soul
If you search too hard for Chris Watson’s musical presence, you will have this season spoiled for you.
Danny Padilla, 26
Sherman Oaks, California
Singer-Songwriter
YIKES.
DOUBLE YIKES.
Also, thoughts and prayers for Danny’s musical partner Mason Sperling who will not be listening to his heart Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Gabe Baker, 28
Houston, Texas
Soul/Folk
Carry on, Gabe.
Jack Mason, 28
Dallas, Texas
Country
Okay, Jack is (maybe) bringing some actual guitar skills to the party but I am losing my mind at literally everything else happening here.
Jamie Gabrielle, 21
Nashville, Tennessee
Pop Country
Jamie is another one who does not seem to have much of an existing YouTube presence, though there is a YouTube account with her name that describes as a “singer/songwriter from New Jersey” so congrats on the Swift Tennessee rebrand, girl.
Josh Hester, 31
Nashville, Tennessee
Country & Pop
I was too distracted by the palpable passenger discomfort in these videos to actually evaluate his singing. Let’s move on and never speak of this again.
Julia Rae, 27
Wayne, Pennsylvania
Pop
I am deep enough in this exercise to not shame the music video anymore when Julia can at least sing and is not accosting people on their way home.
Also: Sports!
Mariana Jasel, 23
Dallas, Texas
R&B, Pop
This is it. Just give me a cover, recorded against a blank wall and keep it moving.
Matt Ranaudo, 32
Encino, California
Neo Soul
Damn, another musical partner (and whole band??) left behind in pursuit of love. The band (Brother Stone and The Get Down) has an extensive offering of covers on their YouTube page, some more embarrassing than others (ban acoustic Outkast covers).
He’s the one wearing a backward baseball cap in the “Waterfalls” cover and singing lead on the Khalid cover — a detail that feels, uh, important.
Mel Taevin, 27
Brooklyn, New York
Indie Rock
Another person for whom I could not find a YouTube presence in the five minutes I spent looking.
Michael Todd ,31
Atwater, California
Singer-Songwriter
Michael Todd is gonna have a helluva an SEO battle up against Pastor Michael Todd of Transformation Church, who has a serious YouTube presence and is also followed by Steph Curry on Instagram!
Anyways, I couldn’t find any of Bachelor Nation’s Michael Todd’s music.
Natascha Bessez, 33
Los Angeles, California
Pop
If she doesn’t cite “All Around The World (la la la la la la la la)” as one of her influences, I will be filing a formal copyright complaint on the behalf of ATC.
Ruby Jane, 25
Austin, Texas
Indie Pop
I have wasted a lot of time trying to decide if I like her voice or not, but the violin is badass so that’s cool.
Rudi, 24
Los Angeles, California
R&B, Pop
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-D30ZpFN6t/
“It’s Just Rudi.” Well, it’s just telling that she has an Instagram presence but not a YouTube one, that’s all I’ll say here.
Russell Johnson, 26
New York, New York
American Folk
I am 90 percent sure this is not the right Russell Johnson but I will not be spending any more time finding out.
Ryan Neal, 28
Dearborn Heights, Michigan
Jazz, Funk, Pop & R&B
Sure, Ryan.
Savannah McKinley, 25
Nashville, Tennessee
Acoustic Pop
The top YouTube result for Savannah McKinley is a nine-year-old Chris Brown cover and I don’t feel like shaming Savannah today so here’s “Listen to Your Heart.”
Sheridan Reed, 27
Austin, Texas
R&B Soul Pop
I’m tired. This seems fine, good even? I don’t know.
Trevor Holmes, 29
Encino, California
Country Pop
Oh, dear. Trevor is going to go far in Bachelor Nation, I can tell you that right now.
Watch The Bachelor presents Listen to Your Heart Mondays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.