AJ Gil

Abner Juda Gil, known professionally as AJ Gil, was born on July 5, 1984, in San Diego, California, to Martin and Teresa Gil. He is the fourth of ten children. His father, a minister and a missionary, moved the family to Mexico, when Gil was four years old. While there, they struggled financially. Gil assisted his family in selling street food and performing manual labor jobs. His family returned to the United States a few years later, and they settled in Tacoma, Washington, after living in a van for several months.

Gil first began playing the drums and guitar around the age of seven. He learned how to play the piano soon after. Growing up, he would often perform in his father's church. One of Gil's aunts was a regular performer on The Lawrence Welk Show, and around the time of Gil's participation on American Idol, one of Gil's cousins was a backup singer for Marc Anthony. Before going onto the Fox reality series, Gil had never been to a concert, despite his family connections to the music industry. Gil has cited Brian McKnight and Stevie Wonder as two of his primary musical influences.