‘American Idol’: Katy Perry Tearfully Calls for Change After Hearing School Shooting Survivor’s Story — ‘Our Country Has Failed Us’
Sunday, Feb. 26’s episode of American Idol ended on an emotional note as Trey Louis, a survivor of the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, shared his story. After hearing about Trey’s experience, American Idol judge Katy Perry broke down in tears and begged for change regarding gun violence in schools. Read about Louis’s audition from season 21 episode 2 below and see what Perry and fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie had to say.
Trey Louis auditioned for ‘American Idol’ Season 21
Louis, a mattress salesman born and raised in Santa Fe, Texas, entered the audition room with an infectiously positive energy. He made Richie, Perry, and Bryan laugh as he spoke about his job and told them his nickname, “Trey from the Fe.” He sang “Stone” by Whiskey Myers, and Richie instantly fell in love with Louis’s voice. The judges noted the passion in the 21-year-old singer’s voice. Then, when Bryan asked why Louis was trying out for American Idol, things got emotional.
Louis revealed that he was a student at Santa Fe High School in May 2018 when a gunman entered the art classroom next to his and then moved on to Louis’ classroom.
“I lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed,” Louis said. “It’s really been negative, man, Santa Fe’s had a bad rap here since 2018.”
Katy Perry began crying and made a plea about gun violence after Trey Louis’s audition on ‘American Idol’
After Louis shared his story, Bryan tried to move the conversation back to Louis’ voice. However, Perry broke down in tears and slumped forward in her seat, frustrated at what she had just heard.
“Our country has f***ing failed us,” she shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks. “This is not OK. You should be singing here because you love music, not because you had to go through that f***ing bull****. You don’t have to lose eight friends.”
As Perry spoke, Louis softy agreed, saying things like “Facts” and “It’s true.”
“I hope that you can remind people that we have to change,” Perry added as Richie wiped a tear from his eye. “‘Cause you know what? I’m scared too. … I hope you can just lead. Can you do me that favor?”
Richie added, “We have tolerated this for song long. Too long. It’s become a norm.”
During the episode’s airing, Perry shared the clip of her speech on Twitter with a broken heart in the caption.
Meanwhile, Bryan tweeted, “Trey, man you have the perfect voice. You sing from the heart and we are really blessed you came to us. No child should have to live through what you did. Thank you for sharing your positivity with us and the world.”
Trey Louis said it was a ‘blessing’ to share his story on ‘American Idol’
The judges voted unanimously to send Louis to Hollywood. They gave him a big group hug before he left the room, where his girlfriend was waiting in the hallway. As he celebrated his golden ticket, Louis gave another reminder of why he wanted to audition.
“It’s important for me to share my story from my hometown. For Parkland, for Columbine, for Las Vegas, and so many others,” he said. “What we go through every day because of what happened is terrible. There is light, there is positivity. You just have to go chase it. Santa Fe, I’m not stopping. I got all the motivation behind me. I’ve got all of you guys behind me. What a blessing this really is.”
Fans can watch Trey Louis’s journey on American Idol Season 21 when new episodes air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
