Where is Trey Louis from? American Idol season 21 contestant is a school shooting survivor

The second round of American Idol season 21 auditions will air on ABC this Sunday, February 26 at 8 pm ET. The episode will feature 14 singers trying to become a part of the popular singing competition by auditioning in front of judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie.

Trey Lemley (stage name Trey Louis) is a popular singer from Santa Fe, Texas. He began singing and recording videos of himself at his job at the Mattress Firm, one of which went viral on TikTok and caught the eye of an American Idol producer.

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American Idol contestant Trey Louis is a survivor of the Sante Fe High School shooting

Trey Louis graduated from Santa Fe High School in 2019 and is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. He often posts his singing videos on social media, with some even going viral, including You Should Probably Leave and Broken Halos.

He is a survivor of the Sante Fe High School shooting, which occurred on May 18, 2018, and was saved by a student, Christian Riley Garcia, who he did not know at the time.

In an Instagram post shared six days after the incident, where he disclosed that he had taken refuge in a closet when the accused open-fired in his art classroom. Christian asked him to run from the supply closet while he took over the responsibility of holding the door.

After escaping through the back door of the school, Trey realized that he was the only one from his class who succeeded in running away. Many of his teachers and Christian Riley Garcia passed away that day. He shared in the post:

"It’s real. I’m not gonna be the same. No one in art class will be the same, these teachers will never be the same….This just made us stronger and there’s nothing that could stop the power of a strong community family."

The sad event resulted in 10 deaths. Now, almost five years on from the incident, Trey wants to represent his hometown in a positive light. He said in an interview on ABC13:

"It's a good little town that had a really bad thing happen to it."

Trey’s mom Laurie also said in her interview that she realized that god had a reason to save him in 2018, which was to do something good for their town.

He has more than 1,150,000 followers on TikTok. Louis also paid tribute to his late friend Chris Stone, who passed away in the shooting, by singing "Stone" by Whiskey Myers.

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About American Idol season 21

Season 21 of American Idol is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and judged by Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. The contestants gave their auditions in Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Nashville to qualify for the Hollywood Week Challenge.

Platinum ticket winners will receive a chance to skip the first round of the competition and pick their partner in the duet round before others.

After multiple battles on different themes and rounds, the winner of the singing competition will receive the "American Idol" title and cash prize.

ABC's description of the series reads:

"Several participants from America showcase their singing talent in front of a panel of esteemed judges to win the title and a record label deal."

ABC airs fresh episodes of American Idol every Sunday at 8 pm ET. The network also uploads the episodes on Hulu after the television premiere.