Silke Jasso
Katy Perry got pretty emotional during yesterday’s episode of American Idol after participant Trey Louis expressed his desire to represent his hometown of Sante Fe, Texas. This is after following the tragic shooting that occurred in his high school in 2018. Perry was shocked by what he had shared and was brought to tears by his heartfelt words.
Videos by Rare
For his audition, Louis performed “Stone” by Whiskey Myers, and his exceptional rendition garnered a standing ovation from the judges Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. After some positive feedback, Bryan asked Louis why he was auditioning. He went on to explain that he was from Santa Fe, and “In May of 2018, a gunman walked into my school. I was in Art Room 1, and he shot up Art Room 2 before he made his way to Art Room 1.”
“Lost a lot of friends,” he continued while choking up. “Eight students were killed, two teachers were killed. And it’s just been really negative, man, Santa Fe’s had a bad rap since 2018.” All the judges were moved by his tragic story, but it was the “Teenage Dream” singer who got extremely emotional, putting her head in her hands and sobbing.
Louis went on to ask her what she was doing,g as she sat up and stated, “Our country has f—ing failed us.”
“Facts,” Louis stated.
“This is not OK,” she continued. “You should be singing here because you love music, not because you had to go through that … You don’t have to lose eight friends.”
Trey Louis Chases Positivity With His Music
“I hope that you remind people that we have to change. ‘Cause you know what, I’m scared too,” she went on. The camera went on to cut to Richie also wiping away tears as Perry continued to cry.
“We have tolerated this for so long,” Richie stated. “For too long. It’s become a norm.”
“And we’ve got to change,” Perry answered, “and I hope you can just lead.”
“For myself and my school and for you, you got it,” Louis agreed.
All of the judges voted for him to move on to the next round, and gave him a huge him before telling him they would see him in Hollywood.
The Sante Fe High School shooting occurred on May 18, 2018. 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis caused the deaths of eight students and two teachers while injuring 13 other individuals, including a police officer who was stationed at the school.
Since the shooting, Pagourtzis has primarily resided in a mental health facility and has been repeatedly assessed as unfit to stand trial.
