Standing Room Only for U.P. Station Contest Finale
By Ty Hughes
Tuesday, July 31st, Tacoma’s U.P. Station invited six of their best singers to compete for a single five-hundred dollar prize, wrapping up their winner-take-all Summer Lovin’ Karaoke Contest Finale.
After weeks of qualifiers, U.P. Station’s Karaoke Host, Tony, and a host of judges along the way, chose these incredible finalists to go head to head. The best of which will walk away five-hundred bucks richer!
It was standing-room only, and KJ Tony’s intimate karaoke room filled to capacity in a hurry on this Tuesday night. The anxiety in the room was electric, and folks chatted away furiously. Old friends and family gathered for a singer’s showdown sure to satisfy. The quality of talent in this place was off the charts. Gloria, Sarah, Laura, Jimmy, Eddie, and Lorrie were hyped up and anxious to get their turn on the mic. Each of these Finalists had given a considerable amount of thought to their final song selection that night. After all, every decision, every move, was potentially worth $500 cash!
Finally, warm-ups were done and Tony brought up the Finalists one at a time. Every singer brought their best that night, and of course, there were a few standouts for sure. After the final judges marks were tallied, a couple of my favorites didn’t even make the top two. Tony announced a first place tie between Jimmy and Eddie. Both felt pretty good about their first performance and hoped to be named champion. But first, they would have to choose another song and go head-to-head in a final sing-off.
Jimmy rocked the house with Ronnie James Dio’s classic rock anthem, Holy Diver! He was definitely in it to win it, even stripping off his shirt for effect. The crowd went wild! Next up, Eddie knew he had to bring it if he was going to compete with that. Wisely, he chose another rock classic, and one of his favorite songs, Journey’s Faithfully. Eddie nailed it, hitting all the high notes perfectly. His experience gave him a real boost. But in the end, the audience chose Jimmy as the Grand Champion and Tony handed him $500 in cold, hard cash! Way to go boys, what an incredible finish!
U.P. Station is a long-time favorite watering hole for the locals. A separated karaoke room stands adjacent to the bar, which stretches across the back wall. There’s plenty of seating, a big fireplace, pulltabs, a great staff, awesome food, and super cold beer at the U.P. Station; 8305 27th Street West University Place, WA 98466, phone (253) 460-3510.
