Jacob Lusk takes the Luther Vandross comparisons head-on

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By USA TODAY

Jacob Lusk has gotten comparisons to Luther Vandross all season long, so finally he's tackling the R&B legend head-on. "It's scary," he admits, then notes that it's the late singer's birthday.Jimmy Iovine thinks Dance With My Father is a great choice for Jacob, especially since it means something to him (Jacob's father passed away when he was young). "Everybody knows that Jacob can sing," Jimmy says. "Now they're going to find out if he can feel."
Jacob has trouble holding on to the song from the very first notes. It's possible he's having trouble hearing something, but from the way he looks upward, away from the stare of the camera, he might be struggling with the emotions of the song -- to the point that he pulls the microphone away for just a second and misses a note.
Soon, though, he reins in his emotions, channeling them all through his voice. Even with the missed note, it's the best vocal performance of the night. Extremely touching.
"You remind me all the time of the reason I love music," Steven says. "Your daddy was up there listening to you."
"It's hard to perform when a song means that much to you," Jennifer says. "You want to bare your soul, but at the same time you have to have enough control to find the notes."
"Vocally, it was good, but it didn't make me jump up and down," Randy says. "I need the return of the old Jacob. I need to see you go through the roof. ... If you're here next week, go for it. ... I need the church kid back."
Ryan asks Jacob about the missed note, and Jacob says it wasn't the emotion, there was a problem with the mix in his in-ear monitor.