Axel grew up in
Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He graduated from
Fair Lawn High School (Class of 2003). He then moved to
Manhattan, attending
NYU. In 2006, Axel began performing publicly as a solo act. His song "This Is The New Year" became well-known originally when
iTunes selected it as a Discovery Download and for its video on
YouTube. Later it was featured as the theme song for the
MTV documentary series I Used to Be Fat, which premiered December 29, 2010. Axel's album, named after the title single, was initially released in 2010 as a self-release, then released a second time in partnership with tinyOGRE Entertainment. The tinyOGRE version was released digitally on February 15, 2011 and on
CD on April 12, 2011. Later "This Is The New Year" was used in the opening sequence of
Garry Marshall's film
New Year's Eve. The partnership with tinyOGRE ended when the company dissolved in December 2011. In 2010, Axel's long-time writing partner, Chad King, began joining him on stage more frequently and in 2012 they formed the band
A Great Big World. They rose to further prominence with worldwide hit "
Say Something", particularly after recording it as a duet collaboration with
Christina Aguilera. The duet peaked at number four on the
Billboard Hot 100. Axel's primary instrument is the
piano. He is also known for playing a number of songs on the
ukulele. ==Notable appearances==