Singer Trey Louis made all of the judges emotional after sharing he survived a 2018 school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas.
It was an emotional and passionate night on Sunday's episode of American Idol. Contestant Trey Louis, a 21-year-old mattress salesman from Santa Fe, Texas, kicked things off with his friendly and lively personality, performing "Stone" by Whiskey Myers.
But when judge Luke Bryan asked Trey why he wanted to perform on the show after his audition, things took a serious turn.
"I'm from Santa Fe, Texas, and in May 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," Trey shared. "Lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed. It's just really been negative, man. Santa Fe's really had a bad rap here since 2018."
Though Luke tried to move forward praising Trey's vocal abilities, fellow judge Katy Perry broke down sobbing after hearing his story, putting her face in her hands before angrily declaring, "Our country has f***king failed us!"
Trey replied, "Facts."
The pop star continued, "This is not OK. You should be singing here because you love music. Not because you had to go through that.... You didn't have to lose eight friends. I hope that you remind people that we have to change because, you know what, I'm scared too."
Fellow judge Lionel Richie added, "We have tolerated this for so long, too long. It's become the norm."
The judges unanimously agreed to send Trey to Hollywood, giving the country singer a group hug before he excitedly went on his way.
After the audition aired, Luke 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. #AmericanIdol."
Katy also shared Trey's audition, simply posting a broken heart emoji.
For more Idol moments, watch the clip below:
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