Listen to Your Heart Episode 3 Recap: Let The Game(show) Begin

The Bachelor Presents Listen to Your Heart hasn’t been very forthcoming about its rules — both for us watching at home and for the contestants on the show. So, it’s no surprise that Listen To Your Heart week 3 opens with no one knowing what’s going to happen next. Thankfully, all of us finally get some answers. 

Chris Harrison shows up first thing and lets everyone know that there will be no more new arrivals to the house. (There had only been three and they all came during last week’s episode.) Chris also gives the contestants the same speech that comes at the end of Bachelor in Paradise about how they need to have a serious talk about their relationships in because “the next time I see you, I only want to see couples that are serious about taking that next step forward.” This is ridiculous when it happens on BiP, but on this show it’s even more laughable. These people are not in relationships! (Except for Bri Stauss and Chris Watson, who are soulmates and in love.) Also, none of them knew that they'd be stuck with the person they were paired with at the last rose ceremony.

This revelation from Chris leads to a crashing of dominos involving Julia Rae, Savannah McKinley, Sheridan Reed, Brandon Mills, Gabe Baker, and Ruby Jane Smith. Brandon wanted to keep getting to know both Savannah and Julia, before Harrison threw a wrench in his plans. Savannah and Julia both like Brandon. Julia also sort of likes Sheridan, and he really likes her. Gabe likes Savannah, but she’s not into him. Gabe gave Ruby his rose last week. 

When Savannah turns down Gabe, Gabe leaves, taking down Ruby with him, because she doesn’t have anyone else.

Brandon tells Savannah he wants to be with her over Julia, and she accepts. “You wanna do this or you wanna go home and cry?” he asks. Smooth.

Julia tells Sheridan she did have a thing with Brandon, but it’s over now. Spoiler alert: It ain't over.

In the end, way too many people continue on with the show: Chris and Bri, Sheridan and Julia, Savannah and Brandon, Jamie Gabrielle and Trevor Holmes, Bekah Purifoy and Danny Padilla, Rubi (Just Rubi) and Matt Ranaudo, and Ryan Neal and Natascha Bessez. Chris Harrison tells the couples that they will now perform together in front of musicians and past-Bachelor contestants who will judge them on their romantic connection and singing, and who will eliminate them until one couple remains. As a prize, the winning pair will get “an amazing opportunity to start their lives as performing artists” that involves a “noted producer” and going on tour. Do they just join this?

The couples begin rehearsing their songs, and we see Julia being sad while Brandon and Savannah sing “I Want You to Want Me." She tells various contestants that Brandon and Savannah might be there for the wrong reasons, which really shouldn’t be possible on this show. They are all there to further their singing careers. The amount that they are also willing to fall in love is, naturally, going to vary. Julia eventually tells Savannah to her face that her being all over Brandon feels “disingenuous."

"The way that I am should not affect you,” Savannah says. She’s right. Julia can feel sad about not being with Brandon, but this is a competition show. It shouldn’t matter if another contestant feels disingenuous to her. They will literally be judged on how genuine they seem. Leave it to the panel, Julia.

Anyway, apparently, there are still date cards going on. (Who knew!) The first one goes to Bekah and Danny, a couple we’ve heard barely anything from. They get styled in new clothes and do a photoshoot. Their deal is basically that Bekah isn’t one to quickly jump into a relationship. I guess Bekah and Danny are too reasonable to deserve much screen time.

The second date card goes to Ryan and Natascha, who were enjoyably baffling last week. Their date is to a Chris Lane show, and his wife, Lauren Lane née Bushnell, is there, too. Chris tells Ryan he looks like Shawn Mendes, which I am glad to hear voiced on the show, because it's true. Ryan and Natascha say things in their confessionals that make it sound like they’re actually into each other and they make-out backstage. I might ship them?

Next, the couples go record songs together. No idea what this is for. I thought they were just going to perform for the judges? During segment, Jamie gets very stressed out and the producers get a clip of her running off upset, so maybe that was the point. 

Finally, it’s time for the performances. The judges this week are Bachelorette couple JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, Jason Mraz, and Kesha. Man, this is a weird show.

Rudi and Matt are first up, performing with Shawn Mendes’ “Fallin’ All in You." Rudi sounds incredible. She might be the strongest singer on the series, and they are all solid. Rudi and Matt get positive reviews across the board. Romance-wise, the judges think they “enjoy” each other and are still seeing where it’s going to go. Accurate!

Chris and Bri also get a positive assessment with “Beyond” by Leon Bridges. I think their performance seems like they’re overdoing it with the flirting, because they are actually in love and are scared it won’t come across, but the judges disagree. JoJo and Jordan are especially approving of the way Chris adoringly looks at Bri. 

Bekah and Danny sing The Lumineers’ “Hey Ho." The judges — and Rudi who pipes up in her confessional — agree that the connection between them isn’t quite there and that they might have more of a friendship. 

Savannah and Brandon perform a slowed down version of “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick. It’s not… ready, let's say. Mraz makes Chrissy Teigen face. JoJo whispers to Jordan, “Do you think she likes him?” The judges all agree that something is missing. Julia is very pleased with this, of course. 

She and Sheridan are next with a slowed down version of the Backstreet Boys’ “As Long as You Love Me." It works better than it has any right to, and the judges love it. Kesha says, “Sheridan, I feel like you have love in your eyeballs.” In her confessional, Julia says, “I imagine this is super painful for Savannah right now.” She is focusing too much on Savannah and I imagine that it will be her downfall. 

Natascha and Ryan perform Rihanna’s “Stay." He starts by playing piano and she suddenly enters from backstage in a floor-length gown. I would expect nothing less from this dramatic woman who I’ve known for two episodes of television. These two lay it on thick, dancing around together and singing with their faces pressed together. Natascha’s voice is very powerful and it totally overwhelms Ryan's. Jason Mraz straight up warns Ryan that Natascha’s career could take off and leave him behind. “While you’re great, she is soaring all around you,” he says. Mraz does not hold back, y'all.

Lastly, Jamie and Trevor take on Maren Morris’ “I Could Use a Love Song." Jamie can’t stop touching Trevor’s bicep. Their singing styles pair well together. At the end, Jamie says she was very nervous, and Kesha tells her, “As a person who knows how hard it is to have self-love you should feel so proud of yourself.” It’s very sweet, and the judges think the performance was sweet, too.

Next up is... a rose ceremony? Apparently? I guess The Bachelor still needs roses. Chris Harrison announces every couple but one gets roses (those roses mean the judges didn’t eliminate them), and then the man and woman in the couple ask each other if they’ll accept one (these roses mean they're meant to be). Presumably, this means that just because the judges put them through, a person could still decide to turn down a rose from their partner. But that doesn’t happen this week, at least. Bekah and Danny fail to receive roses and are sent home. They drive off in separate cars, but I can’t help but think that this show could really lead to some off-show relationships. After all, Bekah and Danny didn’t break up, they just were judged to have given a sub-par performance. 

The episode ends with Julia wondering if Brandon is still thinking about her, even though she insists she still likes Sheridan. I am getting some real Jessica Batten from Love Is Blind vibes. 

On the preview for next week, Brandon admits he still has feelings for Julia. Oh jeez. 

Most likely to have a real relationship: Chris and Bri. Obviously.

Most likely to win: Jamie and Trevor. Their musical style seems to match up well. Plus, they just seem like Bachelor people. That could win over the judges.

Best judge: The surprisingly sassy Jason Mraz. He should be there every week.