The reason Kelly Clarkson didn't do a moment of silence for Texas at the Billboard Awards

"I'm a Texas girl and my home state has had so much heartbreak over this past year, and once again, y'all, we're grieving for kids who have died for just no reason at all," she said.

Clarkson said the show wanted her to hold a moment of silence, but she didn't want one.

"They wanted me to say that, obviously, we want to pray for all the victims, we want to pray for all their families," she said. "But they also wanted me to do a moment of silence, and I'm so sick of moments of silence, I'm sorry, it's not working."

"Why don't we not do a moment of silence? Why don't we do a moment of action?" Clarkson asked. "Why don't we do a moment of change? Why don't we change what's happening? Because it's horrible."

Shawn Mendes and Khalid also touched on gun violence during the show, with a performance of "Youth," featuring the show choir from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Mendes and the students wore sweatshirts that read "Youth" while Khalid wore a shirt that read "Protect Our G̶u̶n̶s̶ Children."

Mendes told Billboard he had "never experienced goosebumps on stage like that before."