The story of A Great Big World began at NYU. Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino were both studying music business while dreaming of making it big in show business. Ian first approached Chad to be his music partner. "I kept blowing him off for awhile, and then one day I heard him singing nervously at the piano. I was like, 'your voice is amazing. Let's work on these songs. Let's be friends,' " Chad said.