the introduction of lucky, paired with luke and laura's reintroduction, was met with some cynicism; georgia dullea of the "milwaukee journal sentinel" did not approve of the show's decision to let go of other popular characters in order to introduce the family. dullea also accused the series of using lucky, an attractive child character, as an effort to get fans to care for luke and laura as much as they did during the height of the couple's popularity. however, ratings rose after the family appeared, and fans responded positively. jackson's portrayal of lucky was also welcomed and received praise from critics. allison waldman of "the huffington post" reflected in 2008: "jonathan came onto the show with huge expectations thrust upon him. he was luke and laura's son, lucas lorenzo spencer, jr. – lucky. he had to be up to speed in scenes with genie francis and anthony geary. (...) jonathan was perfect right out of the gate; he looked, sounded and acted like he'd be luke's kid. he was sensitive like laura, too, not just a smart ass kid." in 1995, jackson won his first daytime emmy award for outstanding younger actor in a drama series and his first soap opera digest award for outstanding child actor. he was nominated for young artist awards in 1996, 1997 and 1999. he won "the hollywood reporter"'s youngstar award in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999, and was nominated in 2000. he again won daytime emmy awards for outstanding younger actor in 1998 and 1999, making him the record holder for the younger actor category, both with three wins and with six nominations. jackson won the soap opera digest award for outstanding younger lead actor in 1999. during his teenage years as lucky, jackson became a popular "teen heartthrob" among fans, featured on fan magazines such as "tiger beat" and garnering many fan clubs and internet fansites.