Solitude Standing is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on April 1, 1987, by A&M Records. Building on the critical acclaim of her self-titled 1985 debut, Suzanne Vega, this record marked a significant sonic evolution for the artist. While her first album was characterized by sparse, acoustic arrangements, Solitude Standing introduced a fuller, more atmospheric band sound, produced by her longtime collaborators Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye. The album became Vega's commercial breakthrough, driven largely by the massive success of the single "Luka." The song is noted for its deceptive contrast, pairing an upbeat, radio-friendly melody with dark lyrics written from the perspective of an abused child. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Vega nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys. The album opens with another of her signature tracks, the a cappella version of "Tom's Diner." While a remix by DNA would later turn the song into a dance floor hit, this original vocal recording holds a unique place in tech history: it was used by Karlheinz Brandenburg as the primary reference audio during the development of the MP3 compression algorithm, earning Vega the nickname "The Mother of the MP3." Achieving Platinum status in the United States and the UK, Solitude Standing remains the best-selling album of Vega's career. It solidified her status as a leading figure in the late-80s folk-pop revival