"You're the one that I love... and I'm saying goodbye"

Featuring Christina Aguilera. A song can mean so much. It can serve as the soundtrack to a time in your life. It can uplift your spirits. It can ultimately change the world. However, the best songwriters don't set out with such lofty goals. In fact, they simply write what comes from the heart.

Composed by Ian Axel, Chad Vaccarino and Mike Campbell, "Say Something" is an indie pop piano ballad which talks about a breakup. The ballad came to the attention of Christina Aguilera and she asked to be included on a revised version for the duo's debut album, The song was critically praised for its powerful lyrics, the emotional composition and Aguilera's vocal delivery.

Discover what happened behind the scenes here.

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one, if you want me to
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all

And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye

Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
And anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

Say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something...

This song was written at a time when both members of A Great Big World, Chad Vaccarino and Ian Axel, were experiencing individual heartbreak. Axel told Billboard magazine that writing the tune was part of the healing process, but they have had to get used to its public exposure. "We're both in a different place since we wrote the song, and have a totally different perspective on it," he said "Whenever we perform it, it's like revisiting the scar. It's always a part of me, and I can always go there and feel it."

They explain the story behind the song:

Ian Axel: For both of us, I want to say it's about really letting go. It's growing up. I feel like we lost a bit of our innocence. It was about realizing what we're worth, really loving ourselves, and understanding that to love someone else or be loved by someone else it requires loving yourself. We were both heartbroken in two different scenarios. I was stubborn and scared to let go for many reasons. That's a universal thing.

Chad Vaccarino: The process of writing this was one of gaining an awareness of this relationship. It was sort of built up in my head in terms of what I thought I could be. I'm letting go of that idea. I'm gaining a big understanding of what was going on at that moment. We can get stuck in our heads so easily. That song was me getting out of my head.

Ian Axel: It was such a profound writing experience. It felt like church. We were so deeply wounded at the time. We were feeling all of these things. Part of me died and came back to life. It was a really sacred experience. We write songs because we need to. We grow and learn together from them.