The title of this article should be t.A.T.u.. The initial letter is capitalized due to technical restrictions. This article is about the Russian singing duo; for other uses, see Tatu (disambiguation). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations. t.A.T.u. (Russian: Тату) 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 (Елена Сергеевна Катина), 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 (Юля Олеговна Волкова), born February 20, 1985, also in Moscow, Russia, is the only child of Oleg Volkov and Larisa Volkova. Contents 1 Origins 2 Public image and international success 3 Revelation, schism and future 4 Quotes 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 5.2 Singles 6 Sales in Japan 7 External links Origins The original concept for t.A.T.u. was developed by Ivan Shapovalov (Иван Шаповалов), a former child psychologist and marketing executive in Russia, turned record producer. Along with him, Alexander Voitinskyi helped to develop t.A.T.u. Katina and Volkova knew each other before starting t.A.T.u.; both sang in the popular Russian children's pop choir Neposedi (Непоседы, which refers to people who aren't able to sit indifferently in the same place; fidgety), 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 the choir, Katina did the same. Shapovalov originally chose Lena Katina at a casting in 1999 to sing a song about the war in Yugoslavia. She also recorded the song Belochoka ("Squirell") during this time. After holding auditions, he picked Katina and Volkova as the best ones and then set them up as a duet, the idea of an "underage sex project" being what he wanted to create. He then admitted that he came up with the idea of forming the group after surfing porn sites targeted to pedophiles and identifying this as an underserved market. "I saw that most people look up pornography on the Internet and of those, most are looking for underage sex," Shapovalov told the UK newspaper The Sun in a February, 2003 interview. "I saw their needs weren’t fulfilled. Later, it turned out, I was right. This is the same as my own desires. I prefer underage girls." 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, and t.A.T.u. have also stated that the ideas for the group's image were influenced by the 1998 Swedish film Fucking Åmål, directed by Lukas Moodysson. Shapovalov and Kiper later fell out over his non-payment of her royalties. The name t.A.T.u. 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]". Originally, t.A.T.u. was named ТАТУ (Tatu), in Russia. However, when they planned to sell records internationally, they found out that there was already an Australian band with the name, so they changed the spelling to t.A.T.u. outside of Russia. It can still be written as Taty, or Tatu. Public image and international success t.A.T.u is known for acting irreverently and having an insolent attitude towards the press. With their satirical comments, evasive answers, and flippant attitude towards their indecent behavior, t.A.T.u have confounded many people, misleading many of them. "People either love us or hate us," Katina said, "but no one ignores us." More than one of their videos have been banned; for instance, the video for the hit song "Prostiye Dvizheniya (Простые движения)" (Translated as "Simple Motions" in English) shows, according to the group, "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). On May 16th, 2001, Universal Music Russia signed the band (in cooperation with Neoformat), that critics, music journalists and record companies call the most outrageous and scandalous thing to ever happen to Russian show-biz. “Ya Soshla S Uma (Я сошла с ума)”, their first self-released single, is a song describing turmoil in a girl’s soul. She is in love with another girl, she is confused over what is happening, she is both scared and happy, and everyone around her refuses to even try to understand her. November 2000: TATU, an unknown act, brought their first-ever video to MTV Russia. Despite its controversial and provocative character, MTV were brave enough to put it on air, and TATU took Russia by storm. The video clip for t.A.T.u.'s first English/Russian single (Ya Soshla S Uma (Я сошла с ума)/"I've Lost My Mind") - the original version of their English song "All the Things She Said" - although the video 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. The second video, released simultaneously with their debut album,"200 по встречной" / "200 Po Vstrechnoi", is called "Нас не догонят" / "Nas Ne Dogonyat" (They're Not Gonna Get Us). It proved that t.A.T.u is not a one-hit wonder. After one week of heavy rotation on MTV Russia, it went straight to #1 in MTV “Russian Top 10” (weekly chart show with Russian only videos competing with each other) and #7 in MTV Top 20 (leaving behind Jennifer Lopez, Eminem and Backstreet Boys). The single received major success at radios as well, A listed on 1st National Radio “Russian Radio” (Russian music only) and 7 other national radios. 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 and became commonplace for t.A.T.u. 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, despite the public's doubt. The main scandal of t.A.T.u was that they were underaged when they started out - doing and saying considerably explicit things. For instance, both girls were featured on the cover of the Maxim magazine Russia for the January 2003 issue. It featured Volkova topless and wearing a skimpy bikini bottom. Lena wore a sportswear lingerie. Both girls were 17 at the time of the photoshoot. Other photoshoots included the September 2003 issue of FHM Russia, where both girls were topless and Lena had her hands covering Yulia's breasts, on the cover. Needless to say, it was very provocative. The lyrics and videos of their songs suggested that the girls were in a lesbian relationship. Although they have never confirmed their sexual orientation, they have suggested that being bisexual is a possibility. "Everyone's so sure we're lesbians, but maybe we are bisexual. Why not?" But the girls have actually milked this ambiguity by coyly refusing to state their sexual orientation while hinting some days that they are lesbian and other days that they are bi. Their image was none other than teenage lesbianism meant for "straight male entertainment" (confirmed by former manager Ivan Shapovalov) masquerading as "mere love for each other". 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 are also infamous for contradicting themselves with what they say and do, on their supposed lesbian image. For example, Katina once said during an interview that "there was no image on their lesbianism and it was who they are and what they do" while Katina earlier acknowledged that what they had to do was an image. They still do say such things, causing people to believe they are lying and hiding something which they do not want the public to know about. Part of their undeniably crafted image was a scripted elusiveness, a defiant refusal to come clean. t.A.T.u. represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 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. (Анатомия Тату), 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 are baptized to church. 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. Yulia, 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." Drugs – they are an indisputable part of the girls’ lives. Yulia talks about her heroin use, with scenes of Ivan Shapovalov and Beata Ardeeva smoking pot. Yulia and Lena can not refuse the pleasures of smoking regular cigarettes, though it may negatively affect their voices. The film tells that Yulia had problems with her voice for a long period of time, which nearly killed the group. Besides this, Yulia admitted that she also had an unwanted pregnancy, and she was forced to have an abortion. 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. However, many of the episodes, the girls refused so show up, or talk to Ivan, so the title t.A.T.u. Podnebesnaya proved incorrect. Most of the episodes were of Ivan working with other artists, as the girls did not participate as they planned. The show was filmed by Vitaly Mansky, recorded in a studio of the Peking Hotel. 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 Pavlo (Pasha) Sidorov's child. She gave birth to her first child, whose full name is Viktoria Pavlovna Volkova, 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 Vlad Topalov, the former vocalist of popular Russian boyband called Smash. 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 Обезъянка-Ноль (Obezyanka Nol'/"Monkey Zero") at the Russian Muz-TV Awards. This song is from t.A.T.u.'s second Russian album Люди-Инвалиды (Lyudi-Invalidy/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 and skills 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. Quotes "t.A.T.u is about saying what you feel, not what others expect. Be in love. Be yourself. We are" — Lena Katina "We never said we were lesbians, but everyone said that we were and now everyone said that we lied. We simply love each other." — Lena Katina, 2005 “Well, we’ve never done any PR stuff on purpose. Everything we’ve done is our own wishes. Vanya could never manage to force us do something we don’t want to. t.A.T.u. is not a product. t.A.T.u. is art." — t.A.T.u, 2005 for an Interview to the magazine «10 days» (Ukraine). "We are international artists, but we are not international people." — Lena Katina "We didn't tell that! That was gossip. Fucking gossip!" — Lena Katina on the Frank Skinner show when being confronted about the "elderly" quote. "Just t.A.T.u. Nothing." — Yulia Volkova on being asked what t.A.T.u means. "Our songs are about our love for each other" — t.A.T.u. before they were exposed as straight girls. "I like everything about Yulia! Nothing wrong there! She's my friend, my sister. I can call her at 4am and tell her that I'm not feeling well, I know she'll come over." — Elena Katina on being asked what t.A.T.u liked most and least of each other, February 2006, French FHM interview. "I like everything about Lena, even if she has some little flaws: sometimes she cries and yells at me. You know, i could kill for her!" — Yulia Volkova, February 2006, French FHM interview "Lesbian image does not disturb us, because we are not lesbians. Yes, we love each other, but I repeat, we are not lesbians. We just show love between two girls, without vulgarities. Our behaviour has been misinterpreted. I have never had a girlfriend and I have never been in a relationship with Yulia. But it's true, that meanwhile Yulia had a girlfriend." — Elena Katina "Gays are still thankful to us," say t.A.T.u. Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova "There is a love of friends between us. Our slogan is to love and it's not important whom to love. We want to say that a boy can love a boy and a girl can love a girl. If all people would love each other, it would be easier to live in this world. If people are lead by hatred and evil, nothing good would happen from this." — Yulia Volkova, Herolds Of Love Interview, Kroonika, 4 April 2006, Tallinn, Estonia. "What we have - is not even a friendship, it's much more. When people actually live together for ten years, you can't call it just a friendship. I take her more as a relative, than a friend." — Elena Katina "No. Just friends, not lovers. We never were lovers. We were always really good friends. We are like sisters. It's like, when you meet your friend, you can hug them, give them a kiss? Girls just do it more honestly. We never were lesbians, to be honest." - Elena Katina, Interview with Gazeta Izvestiya, September 2005 "We don't regret anything. In general, it is never necessary to regret anything, whatever happens. Whatever you plan, things turn out differently anyway. It is simply not necessary to make illusions for yourself. There was no image. We always behave the way we want to." - Yulia Volkova, on whether they regret anything, October 2005 "Everyday. That's a joke. Sometimes I must lie because I don't want to disappoint people." — Yulia Volkova, when asked when was the last time t.A.T.u last told a lie, October 2005 "We're just showing our reality. It's a pretty violent video. Every day a different young girl gets attacked. It's a problem. So we just want to say you have to be careful in this world."-Lena Katina, in Steppin' Out Magazine November 30, 2006; referring to the 'All About Us' video "We enjoy that of course! It's our life!" - t.A.T.u on whether they enjoy causing controversy, CD:UK Interview, October 2005 Discography Albums 2001 200 по встречной (200 Po Vstriechnoy) 2002 200 по встречной (200 Po Vstriechnoy) (2nd Edition) 2002 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane 2004 Remixes 2005 Dangerous and Moving 2005 Люди Инвалиды (Lyudi Invalidy) Singles From 200 по встречной: 2000 "Я сошла с ума" 2001 "Нас не догонят" 2001 "30 минут" From 200km/h in the Wrong Lane: 2002 "All the Things She Said" 2003 "Not Gonna Get Us" 2003 "30 Minutes" 2003 "How Soon Is Now?" From Remixes: 2002 "Простые движенья" 2003 "Не верь, не бойся, не проси" From Dangerous And Moving: 2005 "All About Us" 2006 "Friend or Foe" 2006 "Gomenasai" 2006 "Loves Me Not" From Люди Инвалиды: 2005 "Люди Инвалиды" Sales in Japan Albums 2003/03/05 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane #1, 42 weeks, 1,075,445 2003/06/04 t.A.T.u.[Deluxe Edition] #3, 21 weeks, 170,827 2003/09/21 200 Po Vstriechnoy #123, 4 weeks, 4,633 2003/09/26 t.A.T.u. Remixes #105, 5 weeks, 7,761 2005/10/05 Dangerous And Moving #10, 8 weeks, 61,667 2005/10/05 Dangerous And Moving Mexico #2, 8 weeks, 112,078 Singles 2003/03/05 All the Things She Said #38, 22 weeks, 46,974 2003/06/11 Not Gonna Get Us #86, 7 weeks, 7,304 2005/09/01 All About Us #27, 10 weeks, 19,444 External links Russian Official Website English Official Website Gomenasai Video - Official Prostye Dvizhenya Video t.A.T.u. at MusicBrainz t.A.T.u. Lyrics Search Term: "T.A.T.u." Categories: Article titles with lowercase initial letters | Articles lacking sources | Russian musical groups | Girl groups | Russian pop singers | Eurovision contestants