Idol Winners of Mixed Heritage

Tonight, American Idol will crown a new winner. More than 40 countries have their own version of the competition.

Below are winners of Idol TV shows around the world. Each of them are of mixed-race descent and/or upbringing, a reminder that music exists in every culture.

Guy Sebastian - Australian Idol, 2003

White (Portuguese and English) and Sri Lankan

Taufik Batisah - Singapore Idol, 2004

Indian and Indonesian

Ben Lummis - NZ Idol, 2004

White (New Zealander), Maori, and Tongan

Melissa O'Neil - Canadian Idol, 2005

White (Canadian) and Chinese

Jorun Stiansen - Idol (Norway), 2005

Transracial adoptee: Colombian raised by Norwegian (White) parents

Eva Avila - Canadian Idol, 2006

White (French Canadian) and Peruvian

Mau Marcelo - Philippine Idol, 2006

Puerto Rican (White and Black) and Filipino

Matthew Saunoa - NZ Idol, 2006

White (English) and Samoan

Jordin Sparks - American Idol, 2007

Black (American) and White (American)

Mark Medlock - Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany), 2007

Black (American) and White (German)

Diandra Flores - Idols (Finland), 2012

White (Finnish) and Chilean

Sophie-Tith Charvet - Nouvelle Star (France), 2013

White (French) and Laotian