Oh, and no, Barely Breathing jokes.

Been doing a lot of home projects these last couple of years and that song is on at Home Depot ridiculously often.

Great song. I definitely didn't realize that he dropped that album and then basically wrote music for theater the rest of his career.

I did a quick Google search and learned

Duncan Sheik (November 18, 1969 September 17, 2026) was an American singer-songwriter and composer best known for his 1996 hit song "Barely Breathing" and his work on the Broadway musical Spring Awakening.

That song was like an anthem for me when I was struggling through a crappy relationship. Pushed me to end it.

I saw Spring Awakening on Broadway a couple of weeks after it opened and before it reached mega-hype status. Great show and soundtrack. Lots of that original cast went on to bigger things, like Jonathan Groff (Kristoff in Frozen), Lea Michele (Glee), John Gallagher (The Newsroom). I think the original cast was entirely under 21 years old at the time.