Milford Native To Star In Newest 'Bachelor' Spin Off

MILFORD, CT — A local native musician who has been playing music professionally for nearly a decade is preparing for his overnight success.

Milford's Matt Ranaudo is one of 20 young, single musicians who will star in the next chapter of "The Bachelor" franchise, "The Bachelor Presents Listen to Your Heart," premiering April 13 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

The voice-over artist in the promo below sums up the tune-filled premise in a nutshell when he asks,"Will a shared love of music lead to a love that is shared forever?"

Ranaudo, who starred as a pitcher at Joseph A. Foran High School and later pitched for the University of Bridgeport, had to give up a promising sports career following an accident where he nearly lost a leg, he told the Connecticut Post. He threw himself into music, performing and cutting an album with his cousin as Brother Stone & The Get Down.

The show is set primarily in Los Angeles, near where Ranaudo now lives in Encino. In classic reality TV fashion, all the contestants will be living together in one house — a mansion, really. The wrinkle that is new to this "Bachelor" chapter is that each contestant is pursuing a musical career.

And there's one other catch: "Ultimately, the couples whose performances reveal their love and devotion to one another will continue to be given a chance to further their relationships until only one couple is left standing," according to the PR flacks. Not too much pressure...

ABC president Karey Burke asked viewers to, "Think The Bachelor meets A Star Is Born," when she described the series to Heavy.com. In its preview of the new series, pop culture website Gold Derby gushed that the new Bachelor spin off "will be full of the messy drama you know and love."