Santa Fe High School shooting survivor has emotional “American Idol” audition: “I lost a lot of friends”

HTML tutorial

He survived the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas. Now, Trey Louis is going to Hollywood to compete to be the next “American Idol.”

The 21-year-old singer and mattress salesman went viral after his audition aired on “American Idol” on Sunday. During the audition, Louis, who calls himself “Trey from the Fe,” sang the song “Stone” by Whiskey Myers. His performance earned a standing ovation from the show’s three judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.  

Bryan immediately told Louis, “You’ve got the perfect voice,” and asked him why he wanted to compete for the “American Idol” title. That’s when Louis revealed his story. 

“‘American Idol,’ No. 1, is kind of where people that I enjoy make it. No. 2 – as I said before, I’m from Santa Fe, Texas. In May 2018, a gunman walked into my school,” he said, growing visibly emotional. “I was in art room one, he shot up art room two before he made his way to art room one.”

TREY LOUIS
Trey Louis appears on “American Idol.”

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images


Ten people were killed in the the shooting, including two substitute teachers. Another 10 people were injured in the incident, which took place during the school’s first-period art class. Police identified the gunman was a 17-year-old student at the school.

“I lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed,” Louis told the judges. “It’s just really been negative man, Santa Fe’s had a bad rap since 2018.” 

His story prompted an emotional and outraged reaction from the judges, all of them tearing up as he recalled the shooting. Bryan told him after that Louis sings from “the perfect spot.” 

“You let it come out of your heart and that’s what we love around here,” Bryan said. 

That’s when Perry seemingly broke down, sobbing into her hands. 

“Our country has f***ing failed us,” she said. “This is not OK. 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.”

“I hope that you remind people that we have to change,” she added, “because I’m scared too.” 

Louis’ talent earned him a resounding “Yes” from all three judges, allowing him to move on in the competition and go to Hollywood. 

“Thank you America and Thank you Santa Fe,” the singer wrote on his Facebook following the episode, along with photos of him holding onto the show’s desired golden ticket. “I Love You.” 

Thank you America and Thank you Santa Fe.
I Love You

Posted by Trey Louis on Sunday, February 26, 2023

Related Posts

pilots american airlines

Will a pilot strike disrupt summer travel plans?

Contract negotiations are keeping thousands of commercial pilots grounded at a time when the nation will soon be entering the busy summer travel season.  The union representing…

gettyimages 1252139760

PacWest shares crumble as Wall Street shuns midsize banks

In what is by now a familiar pattern, the fate of another regional lender hangs in the balance as investors bail from the sector following the sudden…

gettyimages 1486152320

New York becomes the first state to ban gas stoves in new residential building construction

New York bans natural gas in new buildings What New York’s natural gas ban means for other states 05:00 New York has officially become the first U.S….

atlanta shooting suspect

Atlanta active shooter: 1 killed, 3 injured in Midtown and no suspect in custody, police say

CBS News Live Live At least one person was killed and at least three others were injured in a shooting Wednesday at a medical building in Atlanta,…

0503 cbsm wgastrike preston 1936300 640x360

Film and TV production halted after Hollywood writers go on strike

Film and TV production halted after Hollywood writers go on strike – CBS News Watch CBS News The Writers Guild of America has gone on strike, disrupting…

gettyimages 1248351523

Hazardous sites in California at risk of severe flooding due to rising sea levels, study finds

More than 100 hazardous industrial sites on California’s coast are at risk of flooding severely — and spreading contaminants — due to rising sea levels if climate…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *