Duncan Sheik , the singer behind the 1996 hit “Barely Breathing” and the Tony Award winning composer of Spring Awakening , died on September 18, 2026, at age 56. His mother, Suzanne, told The New York Times that Sheik died from organ failure after being hospitalized earlier in the week in critical but stable condition. Sheik released his self titled debut album in 1996, and “Barely Breathing” became his defining pop moment. The gold certified song reached Number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed on the chart for 55 weeks, and earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The hit was only the beginning Although “Barely Breathing” was Sheik’s only Hot 100 single, Sheik released nine studio albums and built a second act in musical theater. After meeting poet and lyricist Steven Sater through Nichiren Buddhism, the pair developed Spring Awakening , a rock musical based on an 1891 German play, which won Best Musical at the 2007 Tony Awards. Sheik also won Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, followed by a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. His later theater credits included Alice by Heart with Sater and the Broadway musical version of American Psycho , while a new Spring Awakening revival is scheduled for an off Broadway run in November. Before his music career took off, Sheik attended Brown University and was once bandmates with Lisa Loeb .