Jazzbones is a slightly different haven of vocal embarrassment than your usual karaoke scene. Instead of the typical prerecorded music we're used to, Monday nights features Rockaraoke, a rockin' band with roots at Seattle’s Sunset Tavern.

Last night, amidst candlelit and a packed house, people live out their rock-star dreams during Jazzbones’ Rockaraoke finals.  Participants closed their eyes, sang their favorite song backed by live musicians and pretended 150-or-so chatting attendees are really 30,000 screaming fans.

Najamonique was the winner, as predicted. Her rendition of Tina Tuner's “What's Love Got To Do With It” was soul filled, moody and powerful and a perfect song to slip in vocal improvisations.

In an upset, crowd favorite Murphy did not place, as most had expected. When asked about this, two of the judges, Ernest Jasmin (pop culture writer/News Tribune) and Jennifer Johnson (Jazzbones general manager/ Diamond Rock) stated, "Murphy has a great voice. We all know that, but he chose to sing a song that did not show it off and that hurt him. A Prince song would of done it. We had a hard time deciding, but finally had to base our decision on the song he sang right then and not on our past knowledge of him."

Newcomer to the stage, Andrew, took second place with Gillian and her bubbly attitude and spunky flair coming in third. Of note, Andrew's performance was way over the top, but seemed to please. His showmanship was precise, right down to his style of dress chosen to emulate the artist Tom Jones, whose song “It's Not Unusual” was a big hit. Opening his shirt to show his chest hair, Andrew's energetic stage moves were dance filled and flashy. Quite the entertainer, the judges think he's ready for the lounges of Vegas.

The crowd enjoyed the contest, clapping loudly for favorites and dancing to most of the competition songs, slightly irritating the judges by blocking their view. â€" Brad Allen