Weeks after pop-rock duo A Great Big World performed their single “Say Something” alongside Christina Aguilera on “The Voice,” the three musicians linked up once again to play the somber surprise hit at the 2013 American Music Awards, live from L.A.’s Nokia Theatre on Nov. 24.
With her hair in a braid and wearing a muted black dress, Aguilera sang an original verse midway through the performance, which included a string section but a fairly bare stage compared to the evening’s more gaudy showcases. With A Great Big World’s Chad Vaccarino manning the keyboard, the group’s Ian Axel sat at the grand piano and stamped his feet furiously as “Say Something” approached its emotional climax.
Following A Great Big World’s performance with Aguilera on “The Voice,” “Say Something” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Songs chart and at No. 16 on the Hot 100 chart. Last week, A Great Big World and Aguilera’s music video for their version of “Say Something” premiered online — watch below:
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“Is There Anybody Out There?,” A Great Big World’s debut album, will be released on Epic Records in January 2014. “The songs are all over the place in the spectrum of emotion,” Axel told Billboard earlier this month, while Vaccarino described the debut as “really honest, heartfelt pop music that’s piano-driven with a lot of harmonies.”