"It was kind of like the same reaction when I had one of my kids. I was just speechless."

That's how Manitoba artist Jordan St. Cyr described finding out he was named as the winner in the Christian category for an international songwriting competition.

Over 6,000 entries came in overall for the Unsigned Only Music Competition, and judges included CHVN artists such as Aaron Shust and David Crowder.

"Going into [contests like this], they're so subjective, and you just never know," St. Cyr said. So when he found out he won it took a while to sink in. "I didn't know what to feel. I didn't know what to think. But a couple hours later it sunk in, and it's just super exciting. It feels validating that all this hard work is beginning to pay off."

Indeed, the hard work is paying off for the Niverville, Manitoba native. His latest single "Victory," is at number 6 on the Canadian Christian charts, and he also just won another competition earlier this summer in Nashville, TN.

This victory came for his upcoming single, "In My Lifetime." You can hear it on CHVN when it drops at the end of September. You can also see St. Cyr live at the ONE Worship Night in Winnipeg on September 30.