BEAUMONT, Texas — A survivor of the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting is set to soon make his debut on American Idol after gaining TikTok fame in Beaumont.
Trey "Louis" Lemley is a Santa Fe native. His music is what carried him through after the deadly high school shooting.
"You could say I was a survivor," Louis said. "I was in the art room where everything kind of went down at, and after that is really where I found music because I gained anxiety and I gained depression because of those events."
The singer got his start making singing videos at the Mattress Firm in Beaumont. After posting his videos to social media, Louis became a Texas TikTok sensation.
"One day I decided to share that video, and I woke up the next morning and it's blowing up," Louis said.
With just a touch of a button, Louis shared his talent with millions. The fame is taking his career to new levels
"You could really thank the mattress store for exposing that talent of mine," Louis said. "Because I would have never posted those videos without all that time on my hands."
Some who have heard the talented Texan compare his style to performers like Chris Stapleton.
Louis quickly gained more than 150,000 followers on TikTok. His videos caught the attention of American Idol producers.
“I had an executive producer from American Idol reached out to me,” Louis said. “Hopped on a Zoom meeting real quick with four or five of the producers and I did three songs, acapella, then they asked me to sing in front of the judges.”
Louis will make his big debut on American Idol Sunday night on ABC.