'American Idol' recap: Top 24 singers battle it out in Hawaii with special guests Tori Kelly, Iam Tongi

It's time to hear out "American Idol" Season 22's top 24 contestants, but it's hard to focus on them with such intense Disney brand promotion.

In case you somehow missed it the first dozen times Aulani was mentioned, Sunday's episode brought "Idol" viewers to the Disney resort in Kapolei, Hawaii. Lilo and Stitch, Minnie Mouse and light-up Mickey Mouse ears, oh my.

The contestants were brought on board the relentless marketing efforts as some were prompted to talk about how "amazing" their stays at the resort were. Unfortunately, this cast a shadow over an episode otherwise filled with standout performances, giving each contestant's journey a less sincere feel.

Advertising aside, Episode 8 marks the first time this season that judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie sit back and hand the reins to ABC viewers, who can have their say in who stays and who goes by texting their votes.

Season 9's Tori Kelly and Season 21 winner Iam Tongi also made cameos to extol the virtues of the competition show that helped launch their careers.

Here are the highlights (and lowlights) from the top 24's first 12 performances.

What happened last week? Here's who made it into the Top 24 contestants during 'Showstoppers'

Katy Perry declares Abi Carter her 'favorite' Season 22 contestant

A few episodes ago, Luke Bryan declared Abi Carter a potential "Idol" winner. After a minor stumble during last week's "Showstoppers" due to bronchitis, Abi reminded the judges why they awarded her a rare platinum ticket.

She brought her contagious passion to the stage with "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United and even came out from behind an instrument for the first time. She let loose as she belted the lyrics and at other times reined it in to show an ethereal quality of her voice.

It was Perry's feedback that brought Abi to tears.

"I don’t know if I'm allowed to say it, but you're my favorite," Perry said. "I just think you are so gifted. … This is our third time hearing you sing, right? The second time you could barely get a note out."

'Best we've ever heard': Judges rave about Abi Carter's Billie Eilish cover

Jayna Elise shows she's a new woman compared to Season 21

Jayna Elise finally made it into the top 24 after being cut during Hollywood Week — and she had something to prove.

She challenged herself with a song by pop powerhouse Demi Lovato, "Confident," and more than rose to the occasion. As she strutted from one end of the stage to the other in high-heeled boots and showed off dramatic facial expressions, she brought the confidence judges were looking for from her Season 21 run.

She's a new Jayna now. She's "take no prisoners Jayna," Richie declared.

"Fifteen seconds in, you turned into a stage presence killer," he said.

'I look them up on Instagram': 'Idol' judges spill show secrets

Will Moseley's take on Otis Redding was the judges' 'favorite of the night'

Will Moseley only picked up the guitar four years ago and started singing even more recently, but you wouldn't know it by watching him perform.

Like fellow contestant Julia Gagnon, Will has a voice ready for a session in the recording studio. As he performed soul singer Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay," Will showed off a voice that's so easy to listen to ? one you'd expect to hear while listening to your local country radio station.

Though he gave the panel of judges' resident country star a run for his money, Bryan was effusive with his praise: "It was my favorite of the night."

Perry chimed in, "Luke and I were just commiserating. We were like, 'That was the best performance of the night.' And we both agreed that was the most solid performance, like milk and meatloaf and apple pie. It was so American."

Kayko, Blake Prohel struggle to keep up with the competition on 'American Idol'

It's not right to be too critical of a singer who dares to perform a deeply personal song about their grief.

The judges seemed to feel the same way after Sam "Kayko" Kelly-Cohen took to the stage with his original song, "How to Live Without You," which helped him process his mom's death several years ago (he had taken his last trip to Hawaii with her, he said). His voice occasionally cracked, and it seemed he wasn't hitting the correct notes.

Bryan said, "Do I want to pick apart every vocal aspect of that performance? No."

Perry agreed that the performance was more about the emotion than the technicalities: "I wouldn't be able to sing that song," she said.

Meanwhile, Blake Proehl didn't inspire much confidence from the outset as he attempted to sing Justin Bieber's Grammy-nominated 2021 song, "Anyone."

He started shaky and too quiet, and though his stage presence saw much improvement throughout the song ? it ultimately sounded like something you'd hear at your local karaoke bar.

Blake made safe choices and held back from challenging his vocal range, all while not quite hitting the right notes.

On a positive note, he released the microphone from its prison on the stand and worked the stage with some football-inspired dance moves. Though it perhaps didn't come off as natural like some of his competitors, it showed a good effort on his part to improve as a performer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'American Idol': Tori Kelly returns as top 24 battle it out in Hawaii