A week after a 15-year-old from McIntosh made a splash on the season premiere of “American Idol,” two more singers with ties to Alabama got their golden tickets to Hollywood.

Last week it was Triston Harper’s moment to represent the state. On Sunday the task fell to Dawson Slade, a 17-year-old from Moulton now living in Tennessee, and Justice Murphy, an Arkansas native who’s a student at Alabama State University.

For Slade it was a near thing. His rendition of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” left the show’s three celebrity judges a little underwhelmed. “You’ve got a great voice … a great country thing to you, you’re just not giving it the attack,” said Katy Perry. “Truthfully, as much as I want to celebrate, I think you need to really, you’ve got to put more time in,” said Lionel Richie. “I’m hearing tons of songwriter vibes right now, I’m not really hearing screaming artist vibes yet,” said Luke Bryan.

But at Bryan’s urging, the panel gave him another chance, having him sing Justin Moore’s “Somebody Else Will,” but without using his guitar skills as a crutch. He put enough pepper on it to change some minds. “I just didn’t know you had that,” said Perry. “I mean, you have those levels, you need to use those levels.”

It was enough to get Slade a golden ticket to the show’s Hollywood Round. It also brought on one of the night’s funniest moments, as the judges were introduced to Slade’s infant son and the baby’s mother – who looked like she could be Perry’s sister. “Oh my God!” shrieked Perry.

Justice Murphy, 21, had it a little easier but also got some coaching from the judges. She described herself as a native of Forrest City, Ark., and a student at ASU. After introducing herself as “a church girl,” she went with the classic “Summertime” in a nod to Season 3 winner Fantasia.

Perry praised Murphy for showing “star personality” and said the performance was strong but “a little bit Broadway-esque,” with Murphy bending notes more than needed. “You don’t need to do as much,” she said, “but you’ve just got all the fundamental things to start building something really magnificent.”

“Everything about you really sets off all of the right emotions for what we look for in ‘American Idol,’” said Bryan. “From the first note you had control, you had confidence, you had your poise,” said Richie. “Now again, do you need all those notes? You don’t need them. I’m glad you did it, because we know what you’re capable of if we need to draw from that.”

It was unanimous, though Perry struggled a little for how to properly phrase her vote. “Well it’s not ‘hotty toddy,’” she said. ‘It’s not — is it ‘Roll Tide?’”

That left Richie and Bryan trying to clarify that Alabama State and Alabama were two different universities. “Which one’s Alabama?” asked Perry. “Go Hornets!” suggested Murphy. “All right, go Hornets, go Justice, you’re a ‘yes,’” said Perry.

It took a lot to stand out on a night that featured everything from Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter to a guy playing a stand-up bass while riding a unicycle, but Slade and Justice pulled it off. That was worth a cheer, even for someone not well versed in the state’s menagerie of athletic mascots.

“American Idol” airs at 7 p.m. Sundays Central time on ABC. Episodes can be streamed starting the day after their premiere on Hulu.