Watch Katy Perry break down during school shooting survivor's American Idol audition

American Idol's season 21 auditions got emotional for the judges on Sunday night when a school shooting survivor shared why he was trying out for the show.

Trey Louis, a 21-year-old mattress salesman, wowed Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie, and Luke Bryan with his soulful rendition of Whiskey Myers' "Stone," resulting in all three judges giving him a standing ovation. As he was cracking jokes with the judges, Louis was in good spirits, but the mood shifted to a much more serious note when he revealed that he was a survivor of the 2018 Santa Fe, Texas school shooting.

"In May 2018, a gunman walked into my school," Louis told the judges. "I was in Art Room 1 — he shot up Art Room 2 before he made his way to Art Room 1. I lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed, two teachers were killed."

After hearing Louis' story, Perry immediately dropped her head onto her arms as she broke down in tears. "Our country has f---ing failed us! This is not okay," she told him. "You should be singing here because you love music, not because you had to go through that f---ing bulls---. You don't have to lose eight friends. I hope that you remind people that we have to change. Because I'm scared, too."

Richie also got visibly choked up, and he and Bryan comforted Perry. Richie then told Louis, "We have tolerated this for so long. Too long. It's become a norm."

Perry then continued, "We've got to change. And I hope you can just lead."

Richie, Bryan, and Perry all voted for Louis to advance to the next round of auditions in Hollywood — although Bryan had to try to say his vote multiple times as he was also getting choked up. The trio gave Louis a group hug as he got his golden ticket.

Watch the emotional audition in the video below:

American Idol airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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