All season long, the "American Idol" judges have asked Jessica Sanchez to show more emotion during her performances.
Last night, the 16-year-old singer did just that when she sang Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father." Sanchez dedicated the performance to her military father, who will soon be deployed to Singapore.
The self-proclaimed daddy's girl, who said her father has previously been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, wowed the judges.
"That may have been the best I've ever heard that song sung," said judge Jennifer Lopez, who added that Luther Vandross is one of her favorite singers. "The tenderness, the feeling, your vocal ability. The feeling for me, more than anything."
Steven Tyler agreed with Lopez: "I don't think you could sing a song bad," he said. "Kind of touches on Whitney [Houston], but you've got your own thing going on."
And like J.Lo, Randy Jackson was thrilled to see Jessica finally connect emotionally with the audience. "You are truly amazing to me. You're so natural," he said. "Now you've got the feeling in there. That's what was always missing a little for me," he said.
According to USA Today, Jessica’s father will attend tonight’s "American Idol" results show.
Did Jessica do enough to stay in the competition?
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