Scene & Heard: Say Something, by indie duo A Great Big World performed with Christina Aguilera at the American Music Awards. The New York duo, Chad Vaccarino manning the keyboard, and vocalist Ian Axel sat at the grand piano accompanied by a string section at the awards. Aguilera had been inspired by the song, reaching out to the duo and asked them to duet.

An understated performance, simple and somber, at the event as well as in the video. “Say something, I’m giving up on you” crescendos with an emotional climax, exposes the tender side of Christina along with Ian’s ethereal voice. The video is moving. Christina in a minimalistic black dress with a natural look completes the softer side.

The song tells three stories. The ballad, inspired by heartbreak, struck a chord with audiences soaring to #1 on the iTunes pop and digital charts, and debut at the top of the Billboard Digital Songs chart.

A Great Big World, Ian and long time writing partner Chad met at NYU as students. Their album, Is There Anybody Out There releases in January.