Billboard Music Awards host Kelly Clarkson demands 'action' after Texas school shooting

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Kelly Clarkson demands 'action' after the Texas school shooting

Billboard Music Awards host, Kelly Clarkson, opened up the show with a tribute to those who died on Friday in the mass shooting at Santa Fe high school in Texas that left ten people dead after a gunman opened fire. The

Kelly Clarkson opened up the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night with a tribute to the eight students and two teachers who died on Friday in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas.

"I'm a Texas girl and my home state has had so much heartbreak over this past year," an emotional Clarkson, the host of this year's show, told the audience.

The "American Idol" star said that "once again" the nation is "grieving for more kids that have died for just an absolute no reason at all" and said producers of the show asked her to prepare a "moment of silence" for those who were killed.

But Clarkson, choking up, said she's "so sick of 'moment of silence,'" which she said is "not working."

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"Why don't we not do a 'moment of silence,' why don't we do a 'moment of action,'" she suggested.

She apologized for getting emotional.

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To cheers, Clarkson said that the U.S. should "change what's happening because it's horrible, and mommas and daddies should be able to send their kids to school, to church, to movie theaters, to clubs — you should be able to live your life without that kind of fear."

"I can't imagine — I have four children — I cannot imagine getting that phone call or that knock on the door," she told the audience, adding, "We need to do better."

Clarkson, who's also a judge on "The Voice," said that while she wants to respect and honor the deceased and their loved ones, "let's have a moment of action, let's have a moment of change."