"Surviving Trauma Through Song: School Shooting Survivor's American Idol Audition Moves Judges to Tears"

During his American Idol audition, Trey Louis, a 21-year-old salesman of mattresses, mesmerized the judges with his soulful vocals, which received a standing ovation and a round of applause. 

His powerful rendition of Whiskey Myers's "Stone," a stirring song about a man's heart that will "break again a million times," moved judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie to tears. After his performance, Louis revealed that he survived a school shooting, which inspired him to pour his heart into music.

Louis's story left the judges emotionally distraught. Richie let out a loud sigh, Bryan's eyes welled up with tears, and Perry sat quietly, biting her lip before breaking down and sobbing. She screamed, using an expletive, that the country has failed them, and Louis agreed with her. Perry added that Louis should be singing on American Idol because he loves music, not because he had to go through a traumatic event.

As the nation grapples with a pervasive streak of gun violence, with the Gun Violence Archive tallying 94 mass shootings in the United States this year alone, the judges couldn't help but feel helpless. Richie wiped his eyes with his fingers and said that it has become a norm to tolerate gun violence for too long.

Louis, who is among the more than 338,000 students who have experienced gun violence at school since the 1999 Columbine High shooting in Littleton, Colo, was finishing an art project when the shooting started. He and his friend hid in a supply closet, and his friend told him to run away as the bullets came closer to them. Christian Riley Garcia, the student Louis credited with saving his life, was among those killed in the shooting. Louis's best friend, Christopher Jake Stone, was also killed.

Despite the tragedy, Louis's love for music has helped him heal. He posted a video to TikTok singing Chris Stapleton's "You Should Probably Leave" from the mattress store where he works, and the video went viral, racking up over 3 million views and 354,000 likes. During his American Idol audition, he dedicated his performance to his best friend, Christopher Jake Stone, by singing a song carrying his last name.

After performing "Stone," the American Idol judges unanimously voted to advance Louis to the next round of the competition. Perry asked him to make her a promise to change the situation, and Louis agreed to do it, not just for himself and his school but also for Perry.