NEED TO KNOW Duncan Sheik has died at the age of 56He died Thursday, Sept.

17 of organ failure, his mother confirmed to The New York TimesAfter becoming known for his ‘90s hit “Barely Breathing,” he found a second career as a Broadway composer Duncan Sheik has died at the age of 56.

Sheik first found fame as a singer-songwriter with his hit song “Barely Breathing.” In 2006, he wrote, along with Steven Sater, the score for the smash Broadway hit Spring Awakening.

The musician died Thursday, Sept.

17 in Manhattan, his mother Suzanne Sheik confirmed to The New York Times.

The cause of death was organ failure.

On Wednesday, Sept.

16, Sheik’s Instagram account posted a statement about his health.

“Duncan is currently receiving medical care and remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement read.

“Out of respect for Duncan and our family, we will not be sharing any further medical details at this time.” “We kindly ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time and will provide updates when appropriate,” the statement continued.

“Thank you for the continued love and support.” The statement came just days before his newest musical, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, opened off-Broadway, as well as amid news of a new off-Broadway production of Spring Awakening.

Sheik was born in Montclair, N.J., in 1969.

His sister Kacie Sheik is also an actress who has appeared on Broadway.

Sheik was raised in South Carolina by his mother Zonnie, a jewelry designer, after his parents divorced.

His grandmother, herself a musician, encouraged his love of music.

“When I was four, I would sit down at the piano and improvise musical nonsense, and she’d say, ‘Oh, it’s amazing,’ ” he told Entertainment Weekly in 1997.

His mother told PEOPLE in 2002, “She would make Duncan come and play the piano, and then she would listen to him and let him sort of be inspired by her.” Still, he was self-conscious of his voice.

“I didn’t start singing [publicly] until I was in college, and then only in the Brown University recording studio,” he said.

He attended the preppy Massachusetts boarding school Andover, then majored in semiotics at Brown.

During that time, he also became a practicing Buddhist.

When he graduated in 1992, he moved to Los Angeles.

In 1996, he released his self-titled debut album.

The hit single “Barely Breathing” peaked at No.

16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed on the chart for 55 consecutive weeks.

Entertainment Weekly reported that it was a rare record that avoided the “conventional hype-machine,” and instead depended on strong reviews that led to good press, and good press that led to radio play.

He told InStyle in 1998 that “Barely Breathing” was about pursuing a woman who was involved with another man, and was based on his real life.

“I seem to find myself in these romantic torture chambers,” he told the outlet.

“Certainly your art is often driven by your suffering, so I guess in some sense I do look for it because it inspires me in a strange way.” “Barely Breathing” earned him a Grammy nomination for best male pop vocal performance.

Later albums, like 1998’s Humming, 2001’s....