This 21-year-old sang and then explained why he wanted to participate in the show. The shooting at his college in Santa Fe left 10 dead in 2010.
american idolit is the flagship tele-hook show in the United States, the singing competition that gave The New Star In France. The 21st season is underway, and on February 27, a 21-year-old resident of Sante Fe, New Mexico, tried his luck. His name is Trey Louis, he introduced himself as a salesman in a mattress store and he got into the interpretation of Stonea song by country band Whiskey Myers.
>> Mass shootings in the United States are more and more frequent and the victims are more and more numerous
The lyrics tell of a heavy heart, memories that are hard to bear. Trey Louis’ interpretation literally makes the jury stand up, made up of Lionel Richie and Katy Perry who salute the performance, almost better than the original, and ask the candidate why he wanted to do American Idol.
“Nearly five years agoreplies Trey Louis, on May 18, 2018, a gunman walked into my school in Santa Fe, I was in art class. He first fired into the room next door, before reaching ours, and that day I lost a lot of friends; 8 classmates and 2 teachers“He explains the impossibility of facing the aftermath, the fight against waves of negativity and says that this is why he sings, to pay tribute to the deceased and to “bring some light“.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slhz5ZM2x94
More than 140 dead in 59 days
Facing him, one of the jurors, Luke Brian, replies that his performance was perfect, his voice great. Singer Katy Perry breaks down in tears:No, that’s not great! Our country has betrayed us! You should sing because you love the music, not because you’ve lost friends and I hope your presence here will remind everyone watching that it’s time for that to change.” Thus, in the midst of fun and levity, arose the violent, atrocious reality of mass shootings, a reality that bruises the United States each year, a little more.
According to figures from the Gun Violence Archive association, since January 1, 2023, in other words in just 59 days, more than 140 people have died in 94 shootings. This is more than the same date last year. So the sequence is repeated everywhere on social networks, on TV, in the press and Trey Louis is applauded, praised, encouraged. He promises to carry his message as far as possible from now on, beyond a few minutes in american idol, beyond a fleeting moment of emotion.