Two local artists have made the finals of an international competition and are needing votes.

Jordan St. Cyr and Jaylene Johnson have found themselves in the finals of the International Songwriting Competition in the Christian category. The two Manitoban's join 14 other songwriters across the United States, plus one in Australia and one in Canada.

"We're doing all right, aren't we?" laughed St. Cyr.

It has never been about the awards for St. Cyr, but he admits that it is validating and helps push his message onto a bigger stage.

"The awards are great, but ultimately we got to deflect that glory back to God," St. Cyr said.

His key to success? "Surrounding myself with people that are so much better than I am," he joked.

Johnson is not the new girl in this year's competition, having been in the finals for two years, winning the fan vote last year. Johnson says that winning doesn't help sell more records, but can be really encouraging.

"When you're writing songs in your house, it's nice to have acknowledgement from someone out there," Johnson admitted.

The opportunities that churches give young people is what Johnson believes is helping Manitoba dominate the music scene not just in Canada, but across the world.

The finals is a fan vote and both Johnson and St. Cyr need votes. The public can vote online, once a day, until April 3, 2018. Johnson's song is This Little Light, while St. Cyr has his unreleased Lay It Down in the running. He's hoping to release it to radio within a couple months.