AJ Rafael

Arthur Joseph Rafael (born March 12, 1989), known professionally as AJ Rafael, is a Filipino-American singer-songwriter, YouTuber, and TikToker.

Rafael started a Myspace account in 2003 and uploaded a song he wrote for a girl he met on the Internet.

He also uploaded a Meg & Dia medley which garnered him attention from the band and received 30,000 views.

He competed on season 4 of American Idol and was eliminated.

Rafael created a Myspace account in 2003.

He wrote his first song titled "How's San Diego Pauli" in 2004 when he was 16 years old and uploaded it to Myspace.

He composed the song for a girl whom he had connected with on the Internet for her birthday.

Since Myspace did not support posting videos at that time, Rafael wrote JavaScript and HTML to showcase his songs through the RealPlayer media player plugin.

He posted a Myspace video of himself performing a Meg & Dia medley which attracted the band's attention.

The band shared his video on its Myspace page which led to the video's getting 30,000 views.

Shortly after, Rafael performed in a Filipino festival in San Diego.

He was a contestant in 2005 on season 4 of American Idol but was eliminated by three judges.

In 2006, he posted his first YouTube video which was a Meg & Dia medley.

He has organized charity concerts for Autism Speaks since 2006 and started Music Speaks, an annual charity concert that informs people about autism.

Rafael uploaded his initial YouTube video in 2006, a medley of Meg & Dia songs.

On YouTube, he uploads covers of existing songs and composes original songs.

Rafael established the MoVal Concert Chorale in 2006.

Rafael became a YouTube partner in 2008, which allowed him to receive a portion of the advertising income when people watch his videos.

Following several years of uploading videos, his music career began flourishing in 2009 and at the peak of his recognition, he was making in the low six figures.

Since he attributed his success to forging a rapport with his fans, he routinely used Facebook and Twitter to tell his viewers about his day-to-day experiences.

In his YouTube videos, filmed mostly with his MacBook in his living room, he shared with viewers how he connected with the songs he sang.

To stay connected with his viewers, he made posts on Twitter frequently and sought advice from them about the tempo and key for his piano playing when he livestreamed his performances.

Rafael released his songs on iTunes and Amazon and did livestreams through Ustream.

In a 2009 article in the Inland Empire Weekly, journalist Lilledeshan Bose wrote, "Rafael's songs, whether on the ukulele, guitar or piano, are made in the same vein: sweet pop ballads. His voice is crystal-clear, with never a sour note in the mix."

That year, Rafael was an unsuccessful contestant with his band at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in the singing competition Kollaboration Acoustic III which seeks to raise awareness about Asian Americans in the performing arts.

Born in Moreno Valley, California, he graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2010.

In 2010, Rafael released an extended play titled Juicebox.

Early the next year, he appeared on Billboard's recently created "Uncharted" chart.

By 2010, he had uploaded over 150videos that collectively accrued 80million views.

In 2010, Rafael with 178,117 YouTube subscribers was among the "50 most subscribed music channels".

In April 2010, Rafael released his first extended play, Juicebox, copies of which people purchased online.

He performed songs from the EP during in-person concerts.

OC Weekly characterized his music as "pop in the vein of Jason Mraz or John Mayer with a slightly dancier, more-bubblegum-y feel".

That year, Rafael routinely performed in various venues in the United States and the Philippines and landed a contract with a music management company.

He released his debut album Red Roses in 2011 and went on tours in Southeast Asia and Australia to promote it.

Rafael took an indefinite hiatus from touring in 2014 after he had difficulty filling seats at his concerts despite his having a half million YouTube subscribers and millions of video views.

Inspired by the film Crazy Rich Asians, he started the Crazy Talented Asians variety show in 2018 to showcase Asians in the performing arts community.

In 2020, Rafael released "Waking Up Sucks (Sometimes)", his first original song since 2014.

He posted to TikTok an impromptu duet he did with his girlfriend, Alyssa Navarro, of the Mulan song "Reflection".

Filmed while they were in quarantine in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in California, the video went viral, accruing over 10million views.