Santa Fe High School shooting survivor Trey Louis honors hometown during ‘American Idol’ audition

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

Appearing on “American Idol” means a lot more to contestant Trey Louis, a 21-year-old mattress salesman from Santa Fe, Texas, than just potential fame and fortune.

After performing a smokey rendition of “Stone” by Whiskey Myers on Sunday’s episode, judge Luke Bryan asked Louis why he was auditioning for the reality singing competition.

Louis went on to tell the judges he’s a survivor of the 2018 Santa Fe High School mass shooting, and that he was in an art classroom when the shooter “made his way” in.

“I lost a lot of friends,” Louis said.

In May 2018, a gunman fatally shot two teachers and eight students at Santa Fe High School, authorities confirmed to CNN at the time. Galveston County Magistrate Mark Henry identified student Dimitrios Pagourtzis as the shooter, who is accused of capital murder of multiple persons and aggravated assault of a public servant.

Louis explained on this week’s “Idol” that since the shooting, “it’s just really been negative” and that Santa Fe’s “had a bad rap.”

Judge Katy Perry threw her head into her hands and was heard sobbing.

“Our country has f**king failed us,” she exclaimed. “This is not okay. 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.”

When judge Lionel Richie said that a tragedy like this has been tolerated for “too long” and that it’s become “the norm” now, Perry added that “we’ve got to change and I hope you can just lead. Can you do me that favor?”

“For myself, for my school, for you — you got it,” Louis told Perry.

When the time came for the judges to vote on Louis’s audition, it was an easy yes from all three of them. Choking up, Bryan’s voice cracked as he told the contestant, “You’re perfect.”

The energy in the room then turned celebratory. Louis smiled while hugging Perry, Bryan and Richie after they told the aspiring singer he was moving on to the next round. As Joe Cocker’s “I Shall Be Released” played in the background, Louis met his girlfriend Grace outside of the audition room afterward and the couple embraced when he showed off his golden ticket.

“It’s important for me to share my story from my hometown. For Parkland, for Columbine, for Las Vegas and so many others,” Louis was heard saying after the audition.

“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,” he said.

“What a blessing this really is.”

The-CNN-Wire
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