Does Dierks Bentley have what it takes to win Survivor?
The better question – at least for right now – is whether or not there’s any truth to the rumors that the country music star will be a part of the Survivor cast for the show’s 49th season. Survivor aired its first season all the way back on 2000, and it still consistently ranks at the top of reality TV ratings over two decades later.
Adding a bonafide country music star to the mix would only help boost the hit show’s viewership.
The speculation started swirling when Jeff Probst, the Emmy-Award-winning host and show runner of Survivor, revealed that a high-profile celebrity was applying to be a part of Survivor’s 49th season (Season 47 just finished airing back in December). Probst revealed the news on the reality TV show’s companion podcast – On Fire with Jeff Probst.
Here’s the quote from the program’s host that had all Survivor fans scrambling to connect the dots and figure out who Probst was hinting at:
“We have someone applying for Season 49 who is very accomplished and known around the world. They too are going through the same casting process, the same way every other player did, because this is everything.
We have to know you. We have to anticipate you. There’s not a right or wrong answer in casting. People often say, ‘How do I get on the show?’ Just be yourself. We just want to know who that version of you is.”
@allwinnerssurvivor Any guesses for which celeb is in the casting mix for Survivor 49? #jeffprobst #survivorcasting #cbssurvivor #survivorcbs #survivor2024 #survivorfans #survivor49 ♬ original sound – All Winners Survivor CBS 🏝
Obviously, Jeff Probst didn’t give away any specific details about who exactly he was referring to. But internet sleuths started digging, and noticed that there was one celebrity who had strangely followed Jeff Probst and every single casting director from Survivor on social media around the time the “celebrity could be joining the reality show” narrative arose.
Dierks Bentley.
Now everything is still speculative at the moment, just to be clear. But if you are interested in seeing another piece of information that could point towards the “Drunk On A Plane” singer joining the reality competition series, I’ll point you in the direction of some very… one could say “coincidental” scheduling.
The Survivor application says that season 49 will film “sometime between mid April 2025 to mid May 2025.” And when you visit Dierk Bentley’s official website and scroll over to the “Tour Dates” page, there just so happens to be an April-to-May gap in his 2025 schedule.
As you can see here:
You’re seeing what I’m seeing, right?
And to add to all of the speculation, a popular Survivor fan account (they claim to be #1) on social media says they have talked to some “insiders” and “reputable” sources in Nashville, and it’s not much of a secret anymore that Dierks Bentley is set to be a part of Survivor 49:
“Well, what started out as just some random, obscure guess as to what celebrity Jeff Probst was hinting at being in the casting process for ‘Survivor 49’ and it turns out to be likely true! A VERY reputable and verified source in Nashville said Dierks going on Survivor is ‘the worst kept secret in Nashville.’
Normally I wouldn’t share in progress casting rumors but the heart of ‘Survivor’ since the beginning has been speculating and guessing, and since Jeff Probst talked about this in an interview, I feel like it’s fair game to speculate and guess and see what happens.”
Honestly, I could see it… if there was anyone in country music that was made for Survivor, it’s Dierks Bentley. The dude is a pilot, he mountain bikes, likes to cold plunge, spends a ton of time in the mountains of Telluride… makes total sense.
And believe it or not, Dierks wouldn’t be the first country star on Survivor. Chase Rice was a contestant on the season that took place in Nicaragua in 2010, and he actually finished as the runner-up.
[TIL] Was watching Survivor Nicaragua, and found out that Chase was a crew member for HMS. Then I learnt that this Chase is Chase Rice the music star. Didn’t know Chase Rice was in NASCAR. (via u/BucketOCheerios) https://t.co/a0wANPVzzc #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/DxrewL6VWu
— r/NASCAR on Reddit (@NASCARonReddit) May 15, 2020