The tribe, er, the fans, have spoken: Cirie Fields has won the “Sia Prize” in the Survivor 50 finale, receiving $100,000 from the Grammy-nominated singer and superfan based on a fan vote. Over elated shouts from the studio audience, Survivor showrunner and host Jeff Probst noted that Fields’ win “should come as no surprise.” Fields came in sixth place this season around, but recently won the first season of The Traitors‘ U.S. iteration.
The Sia Prize is an unofficial, meritorious cash prize the Australian singer awards to her favourite castaways, who often are the season’s underdogs. Across 14 seasons, Sia had doled out over $1 million to 19 different Survivor contestants, including Kaôh Rōng player Tai Trang, who was the first recipient of the prize because he wouldn’t let his tribe slaughter a chicken. The “Chandelier” singer last awarded the honour in 2023 during Survivor 45 to three players, including Katurah Topps who received $100,000 from Sia.
However this time around, the Sia Prize has evolved. In the spirit of Survivor 50‘s theme of putting power “in the hands of the fans,” Sia invited the audience to vote for the cash award winner and “the kind of player she always recognises.” Probst said he asked Sia to bring back the prize for the special season.
“She loved the idea of fans having a real voice in shaping the game and was very enthusiastic about participating,” Probst recently told Rolling Stone. “And the twist on the Sia Prize was actually her idea. She said, ‘If this season is truly about the fans having a say, then the fans should choose the winner of the Sia Prize too.’”
Sans Sia, Survivor‘s 50th season was punctuated by several celebrity appearances. Billie Eilish contributed a special “boomerang” Immunity Idol, Zac Brown entertained the castaways during a reward, and Mr. Beast turned the game on its head with a new Super Beware Advantage – and doubled the game’s prize money to $2 million.
Tonight’s finale was marred by a major technical difficulty during its live broadcast. Before airing the fire-making challenge at the final four, Probst brought out Rizo Velovic and referred to him as the final jury member, spoiling the results of the challenge. Fields pointed this out to Probst, while the crowd erupted into gasps.
“We were supposed to show you fire-making, and then have the loser of fire-making, Rizo, come out and talk about how charming he is, and if how he had practised fire-making, maybe he would have won,” Probst said. “Instead, we did a Survivor twist. It’s the last twist of the season. Now, we’re gonna watch Rizo lose.”
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Survivor 51 will premiere later this September on CBS/Paramount+.
From Rolling Stone US
