It’s the kind of news that makes the world go still. All 27 girls who went missing during the July 4th floods at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, have now been confirmed dead. Early this morning, rescue crews found the last bodies in the Guadalupe River. The hope that families had been holding onto is now gone. Across Texas, over 104 people have died in what’s become one of the worst disasters the state has seen. Grief hangs everywhere. But in the middle of this heartbreak, one voice stood out—not from a stage, but from the heart. John Foster, the 25-year-old country singer and American Idol runner-up, donated $150,000 to help the victims’ families and first responders. Then he disappeared into a small studio near Austin. No band. No big production. Just his pain, a guitar, and a song.
TRAGEDY AT CAMP MYSTIC: All Girls Confirmed Dead After Texas Flood Horror — Country Idol John Foster Donates $150K and Releases Tear-Jerking Ballad “Tell That Angel I Love Her”
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It is the kind of news that breaks a nation’s heart.
All 27 girls who were swept away during the July 4th flash floods at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, have now been officially confirmed dead. Rescue crews made the devastating announcement early this morning as the final bodies were recovered along the Guadalupe River, ending all hope for miracles.
The disaster — which has already claimed over 104 lives across Texas — is now among the deadliest natural tragedies in recent state history, with grieving parents, shattered communities, and stunned onlookers still asking how it could have happened so fast.
Enter John Foster: Idol Runner-Up Becomes an Unlikely Beacon of Hope
But even in the midst of overwhelming loss, one voice has quietly risen — not from the top of the charts, but from the cracked heart of country music itself.
John Foster, the humble, gravel-voiced runner-up on last season’s American Idol, has stepped forward in a way that’s moved the nation. The 25-year-old rising star, who grew up just two hours from Kerrville, donated $150,000 to help support the victims’ families and exhausted first responders.
But he didn’t stop there.
A Song Straight From the Ashes
Just hours after the tragic news broke, Foster retreated into a small recording studio outside Austin. What came out wasn’t polished. It wasn’t planned. It was just raw grief, wrapped in melody.
The result? A stripped-down, renewed acoustic version of his unreleased track, now titled “Tell That Angel I Love Her” — and listeners say it’s one of the most soul-wrenching ballads in years.
“Each tear that falls on my guitar
Is a hug from afar
Lord, won’t you tell that angel I love her?
As y’all live in the stars…”
The line has already sparked over 1.2 million views on TikTok in under 12 hours, with thousands of fans sharing how the song brought them to tears.
John Foster also performed “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” in a heartfelt tribute to the late Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill. He was close friends with the two girls. They were killed during a high speed police chase on New Year’s Eve 2022. A police officer hit their car while pursuing another car.
Foster performed this original song right before he advanced into the top 20 on American Idol last month.
You can see him getting emotional at the end. I can only imagine the journey this has been for him…a wild ride his friends Maggie and Caroline are surely proud of.
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“This Song’s for Them. For the 27 Angels.”
In a short post that accompanied the surprise release, Foster wrote:
“I didn’t plan this. I just… couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing their faces. So I wrote. And cried. And recorded. This song’s not for streams. It’s not for charts.
It’s for them. For the 27 angels. And their mamas and daddies still waiting for them to come home.”
The ballad has already drawn comparisons to early Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson — but with an emotional vulnerability that cuts deeper.
A Star Is Born in the Shadow of Grief
Foster’s act of generosity and grief-soaked song have thrust him into the national spotlight — not as a polished pop-country act, but as a genuine soul whose voice sounds like it’s lived through every line.
He’s also pledged to donate all streaming revenue from the track to the Texas Flood Recovery Fund, along with plans for a benefit concert in Kerrville later this month, featuring other artists including Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson.
🕊️ As families light candles for the daughters they’ll never hold again, and a state counts the names of the lost, one young man with a guitar did the only thing he knew how to do: tell the angels he loves them — for all of us who never got the chance to say goodbye.
