T.A.T.U
 t.A.T.u. (Russian: taty) is a Russian pop music duo consisting of Elena
(Lena) Katina and Yulia (Julia) Volkova. The two girls were marketed as a
lesbian couple, but their sexual orientation was the subject of much speculation
until in December 2003 when they admitted on Russian television that they were
not in a lesbian relationship together and that it had been exploited as a
marketing strategy devised by their former manager Ivan Shapovalov.
The members of the duo are:
* Elena Sergeevna Katina, born October 4, 1984, in Moscow, Russia. She is the
youngest of three children born to S. V. Katin, a renowned Russian pop music
author, and Inessa Katina.
* Yulia Olegovna Volkova, born February 20, 1985, also in Moscow, Russia, is the
only child of Oleg Volkov and Larisa Volkova.
Origins
The original t.A.T.u. concept was developed by a former Russian child
psychologist and marketing executive Ivan Shapovalov who has become a record
producer.
Katina and Volkova knew each other before starting t.A.T.u.; both sang in the
popular Russian children's pop chorus Neposedi, from which Volkova was allegedly
banned for "inappropriate behavior." (Volkova once implied that it was because
she had molested the other girls in the chorus; later she said that it was for
smoking, drinking, and swearing. Neposedi denied that she was expelled but
simply "graduated" as all members of the children's band would once they've
reached a certain age.) Not long after Volkova left Neposedi, Katina did the
same.
Shapovalov originally chose Lena Katina at a casting in 1999 to sing a song
about the war in Yugoslavia. After holding auditions, he picked Julia and Lena
as the best and then set them up as a duet, the idea of an "underage sex
project" forming in his mind. The two were signed to a demanding contract; they
were strictly controlled and told how to behave at press conferences. Both were
fifteen at that time. Shapovalov has claimed that the idea for t.A.T.u.'s image
was his. Elena Kiper, Shapovalov's former lover and originally deputy manager of
t.A.T.u., says that the idea was hers. She fell asleep at her dentist's, had a
dream in which she kissed another woman, and awoke remembering the words "Ya
soshla s uma" (meaning "I've lost my mind"), the title of the song that she then
wrote the lyrics for that became t.A.T.u.'s first single. Kiper has also stated
that their ideas for the group's image were influenced by the 1998 Swedish film
Fucking Amal, directed by Lukas Moodysson. Shapovalov and Kiper later fell out
over his non-payment of her royalties.
Originally, t.A.T.u. was named (Taty). When they became popular outside Russia
and it was discovered that there was already an Australian band with that name,
the spelling was changed to t.A.T.u. outside Russia. It is still occasionally
written in the Latin alphabet as Taty or Tatu. The original name comes from a
collocation of "ta" and "tu" (pronounced 'tuu'), two forms of the Russian
feminine demonstrative pronoun "ta" in its nominative and accusative cases. It
can be translated as "that female [does something to, supposedly loves] that
female [over there]."
Public image and international success
The band is known for acting irreverently and having an insolent attitude
towards the press. With their satirical comments, evasive answers, and flippant
character towards their indecent behavior, t.A.T.u have confounded many people,
misleading many of them. "People either love us or hate us," said Katina, "but
no one ignores us." More than one of their videos have been banned; for
instance, the video for the hit song "Prostye Dvizheniya /Simple Motions" shows
how simple moves are always in our lives, like drinking water, reading a book
(which is what Katina does during most of the video), or masturbating (which is
what Volkova does during most of the video).
The video clip for t.A.T.u.'s first English/Russian single (Ya Soshla S Uma/"I've
Lost My Mind") - the original version of their English song "All the Things She
Said" - was banned by MTV Russia (After being unbanned, it won People's Choice
Award at MTV's Russian Awards.) and by the BBC and others. It shows them dressed
up in high school outfits (similar to the Catholic school uniforms that are
common fetish items), behind a fence, screaming out in anguish, begging for
their parents' forgiveness, shaking the fence, and kissing passionately.
After enormous success in Russia, t.A.T.u. released 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
in 2002, an English-language version (co-produced by Trevor Horn) of their
Russian debut album. The debut English-language album sold over five million
copies around the world. In fact, their single "All the Things She Said" was
used as the entrance theme of WWE Diva Victoria from late December 2002 to May
2004.
In order to play up the lesbian angle of their image, most of their performances
usually included at least one instance in which they kissed passionately. This
act was usually censored whenever the duo appeared on American television
programs. However, due to much speculation and suspicions, the public began to
realize that their live performances, which featured the girls caressing,
fondling, kissing, and looking at each other longingly, was just an obligation.
Their routine at concerts -- with precise, play-by-play stage directions, such
as when to move about, how to act at this particular moment, what to say, how to
behave, even how to partially strip -- has stayed the same over two years. But
the girls didn't seem to object, and the discipline paid off.
The lyrics and videos of their songs suggested that the girls were in a lesbian
relationship. Sometimes in interviews they stated that they were in real life in
a lesbian relationship, often giving outrageous details of their supposed sex
life, but more usually, questions in that direction were evaded by statements,
such as "Don't be afraid to be yourself; don't be afraid to love," or that they
did not like labels.
t.A.T.u. represented Russia at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest where they were
considered the favorites to win. Volkova did not take part in rehearsals because
of inflamed vocal cords, and their performance turned out to be rough at first
but ended fairly well. t.A.T.u. claim that they would have won Eurovision if the
Irish telephone votes had been counted - a technical fault within eircom led to
a jury deciding placings, rather than coming third. They later stated,
"Eurovision is for beginners ... we were already artists and only attended because
our country asked us to attend." Russia protested the Eurovision results, but to
no avail.
In response to t.A.T.u.'s loss of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, during
their Istanbul Concert during the summer of the same year, they sang Sertab
Erener's song "Everyway That I Can" (Sertab Erener was the winner of the
Eurovision Song Contest that year.), implying that they were having their
revenge on the Turkish star.
Revelation, schism, and future
On the 12th of December 2003, The Anatomy of t.A.T.u, made by the documentary
film director Vitaly Mansky, appeared on the Russian television channel STS. The
film portrays the everyday lives of the t.A.T.u. girls. To name one, it suggests
how Yulia and Elena are not lesbians, that they've never been such, and never
thought about being that way before the project. It's all just a myth, a clever
brainchild devised by Ivan Shapovalov, as a marketing scheme. Yulia, for one, as
it is implied, has a boyfriend named Pasha, who follows her everywhere.
Both girls were baptized. Lena visits church regularly and confesses her sins.
Lena admits that most of the things that she has to do are sins, and she
frequently saw a priest about it. Julia, on the other hand, is ready to do
anything to be popular. She isn't afraid of anything apart from loneliness. Lena
is shyer, and she says that she would never have sex with anyone in front of the
cameras. Volkova said that before t.A.T.u., she had never thought about girls in
that way, but during t.A.T.u. she had fallen in love with another girl, although
the physical aspect had not developed beyond kissing. Volkova also stated that
she had had an abortion earlier that year as had been reported in some
newspapers in February 2003 and that she had once taken heroin for a bet to
"prove that she had no need for such things in her life."
On December 12, 2003, an anime movie based on t.A.T.u was announced. The movie,
titled t.A.T.u. Paragate, was to be directed by Norio Kashima and Susume Kudoh,
with Shinichiro Watanabe directing the opening. The film was created by Ivan
Shapovalov, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was going to be made by
studio iMovie and cost 500 million yen (4.7 million USD). The 100-minute film
was set to be released in Japan, Russia, and Europe in November 2004. The date
then changed to December. The project was then cancelled before its target
release due to numerous circumstances, including a fallout between the duo and
Shapovalov.
From January through March 2004, STS TV in Russia aired t.A.T.u. Podnebesnaya, a
thirteen-episode reality show which chronicled the group recording their second
album with producer Ivan Shapovalov. The show was filmed by Vitaly Mansky.
In Spring 2004, Katina and Volkova left their manager Ivan Shapovalov while they
were supposed to be recording their second album because they believed that the
quality of the material was too low. They had a contract with Universal Music
Russia, but their new manager Boris Rensky (who was formerly Shapovalov's
business partner) negotiated a new contract with Universal Music International.
The new contract is for four more albums (which includes Dangerous and Moving).
In May 2004, Volkova announced that she was pregnant with long-time boyfriend
Pavel (Pasha) Sidorov's child. She gave birth to her first child Viktoria on
September 23, 2004. Volkova split up with Sidorov in spring 2005. Volkova didn't
stay single for long; while recording a new album for t.A.T.u., she started
going out with a businessman living in Los Angeles named Tigran, who is of
Russian and Caucasian descent. However, of April 2006, Yulia admitted that she
has a boyfriend - whom she claims that she is in love with - named Vladik
Topalov. Volkova also added that she has known him for eleven years, and they
have known each other since Neposedi and have been together for about half a
year now.
On June 3, 2005, t.A.T.u. performed a brand new song (Obezyanka Nol'/"Monkey
Zero") at the Russian Muz-TV Awards. This song is from t.A.T.u.'s second Russian
album (Lyudi-Invalidi/Disabled People).
t.A.T.u.'s second English album Dangerous and Moving was released on October 11,
2005 in North America and on October 10, 2005 in the rest of the world.
The first single from the Dangerous and Moving album is "All About Us", written
by Billy Steinberg and The Veronicas - a duo of twin sisters Jess and Lisa from
Brisbane, Australia. Billy Steinberg is the man responsible for many 1980s hits,
including Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and the Bangles' "Eternal Flame." The video
for the single was shot by Hollywood director James Cox (Wonderland) and can be
viewed at the official English website. The album also features Sting playing
bass on the track "Friend or Foe," which was lyrically written by Eurythmics'
Dave Stewart.
The second single was initially going to be "Dangerous and Moving," but there
was a change of plans. Instead, "Friend or Foe" became t.A.T.u's second single,
and "Dangerous and Moving" was bumped to be used as a third or maybe even fourth
single. The video was filmed in Beverly Hills, LA by James Cox. The video was
shot in Bronson Caves, the same caves used in the original Batman series and
features Yulia showing her abilities on the piano.
The third single has been announced by Interscope as "Gomenasai."
Recently, the legendary Guy Chambers wrote a special song for t.A.T.u. titled
"Wrapped Around Your Finger." It will be performed for their world tour kicking
off this April.
Early this year, Roman Ratej, drummer of t.A.T.u., has left the group for
reasons unknown to the public. t.A.T.u.'s management has already found a
replacement for him, as well as a bass player.
On April 17, 2006, Tatu returned to reality tv in Russia with t.A.T.u.
Expedition, which was broadcasted on Russian music channel Muz-TV.
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