A group of tattoos in our time. The Tatu group now: what the group’s lead singers look like and what they do

Formation of the group

The Tatu group was created by Ivan Shapovalov in 1999 together with composer Alexander Voitinsky. They carried out a selection process for the role of a soloist, as a result of which the type Lena Katina was chosen. There was a fixed number of songs. Then he decided to start a duet and invited Yulia Volkova, who participated in the casting. Both were 15 years old at the same time. A lesbian look was chosen especially for the duo. Katina and Volkova knew each other until they received the “Tattoo”, then they performed in the children’s vocal and instrumental group “Fidgets”. The name, as they eventually said after the duet participant, could mean “Ta loves Tu.”

The wording of the song “I’ve lost my mind” was written by the writer Chosen Kiper and VGIK student Silny Polienko, and sixth-grader Vysoky Galoyan. The financial sponsor was entrepreneur Borislav Rensky. The Neformat society, headed by Shapovalov, was created specifically to manage the creative process.

The co-producer of the duet, the Chosen One, Keeper, therefore, said that the general idea of ​​​​using the image of a lesbian came to her after watching “Show Mine Love” (Swedish “Fucking A*ma*l”, 1998) by Swedish film director Lukas Moodysson. The intrigue of the film is based on the love of two cute young schoolgirls.

In 2000, there was also the single “I've lost my mind,” which for several months occupied a position in the charts of Russian radio stations. In October, this means that the video clip immediately took a position on MTV Russia. On December 19, the vocalists of the group also give their first press conference at the school where Yulia Volkova studied.

In 2001, the Neformat company signed an agreement with the Russian branch of Universal Music. At the request of my comrades, I must, to put it mildly, release 3 albums.

May 21, 2001 means the “200 oncoming” maneuver and a video for the song “They won’t catch us.” During the first two months, uvrazh was sold with an official circulation of 500 thousand duplicates (about 2 million pirated duplicates on various media). As a result, in 2001, official sales of the album amounted to more than 2 million duplicates (and about 4 million pirated copies). Uvrazh, despite being Russian-language, broke absolutely all popularity records (60,000 duplicates sold in the first week), and not only in Russia, but also in Eastern Europe. In June, Comrades was awarded the “100-pound hit” super award from Hit FM radio. Recording of the English-language version of the album begins in August.

On September 6, 2001, in the summer of New York, Comrades received the MTV Video Music Awards in the Viewers’ Choice - Best Russian Video category for the clip “I’ve lost my mind.” This means the single and video clip “30 minutes”, which ran from the fall of 2001 to the summer of 2002 on Russian television more than 3000 times. MTV Russia recognizes the clip “I'm crazy” as the best music video of the summer. The comrades set off on a journey through Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Germany. As a result, in 2001, Badnyak's comrades gave more than 150 concerts in a hundred cities.

February 15, 2002 means a reprint of the album “200 in the opposite direction” with, as everyone knows, the new song “Clowns” and with remixes (“30 minutes” and “Gay Boy”). In the first week, sales amounted to 60,000 licensed duplicates. On May 15, 2002, Tatu received the International Federation of Phonogram Producers “IFPI Platinum Europe Award” for the million copies of the album “200 in the opposite direction” sold in Europe. Tatu became the first band from Eastern Europe in history to receive this award.

On May 30, the presentation of the newest video “Simple Movements” finally took place. In July, filming of a video clip begins especially for the English version of the single “All the things she said.” Urge “200 km/h in the Wrong Lane” means in the USA.

In August, Tatu changed its name to t.A.T.u. due to the fact that in Australia there are also “Tatu” comrades.

September 3 “All the things she said” means on radio broadcasting and, as we say, music channels in Spain, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Norway. On the original date in Italy, it received a “golden” civil status (25 thousand duplicates sold). September 10 single means in the USA. On October 7, 2002, in the summer of Western Europe, the English-language version of the album “200 in the opposite direction” called “200 km/h in the Wrong Lane” immediately became a bestseller. Comrades goes on a promotional tour of Europe. The promotional tour t.A.T.u. gave about 50 interviews, published in all European languages.

On November 14, Comrades also performed the box-office film “All the things she said” at the European Music Awards. The clip ended up in heavy rotation on MTV US and MTV UK. In Italy and Sweden, the single is certified platinum. Comrades are interviewed by Rolling Stone.

On May 24, 2003, Tatu represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga with the song “Don’t Believe, Don’t Be Afraid.” The organizers of the competition also warned that in the event of hooliganism by comrades, to put it mildly, she would still be disqualified. Comrades ranks third (163 points), after Turkey (167 points) and Belgium (165 points). From parts of Great Britain and Ireland, comrades accepted 0 points. Moreover, in Ireland, the telephone referendum was replaced by voting by a national jury for technical reasons (inconsistency between the Irish provider and the RTE channel). The Russian Channel One finally tried to appeal the results, calling the ratings “unbelievably low” and demanded that the results of the national vote be printed. However, the television company RTE stated that the result, in any case, generally remains the same. The European Prophetic Association rejected the claims of Channel One.

In 2003, Tatu received what many think was their second award from the International Association of Phonogram Producers “IFPI Platinum Europe Award” for the million copies of the album “200 km/h in the Wrong Lane” sold in Europe. Comrades took second place in the French national charts and a position in the UK charts.

In October, “Tatu” became winners of the World Music Awards in the categories “Best Pop Group”, “Best Global Duo” and “Best Dance Group”. Shapovalov suggested that at the time of the ceremony, they should finally give the participants real machine guns with blank cartridges, with which Yulia and Lena were supposed to finish off the room. However, the organizers gave out toy machines, as a result? comrades, to put it mildly, refused to participate and, in the end, did not accept the prizes.

In December, two concerts are held in Edo on the largest concert platform, Tokyo Dome, which can accommodate 43,000 people. In Edo, "Tatu" meet in a live Nippon Television program with the Prime Minister of Japan Zaintiro Koizumi and with the Japanese film actor and film director Takeshi Kitano at his television studio. The group's activity has been subject to various criticisms from the part, as most of us are accustomed to say, interested parties, which was associated with the chosen image, scandalous behavior and statements of the participants (performances in a low bra in clubs and at concerts, use of obscene language in interviews, provocative ones). In the UK, fellow public figures and TV presenters called for a ban on the broadcast of the video clip “I’ve lost my mind,” accusing the group of “propaganda of pedophilia.”

In January 2004, the STS TV channel finally began airing the gala show “Tattoo in the Celestial Empire”: it was thought that the reality show would also show the duo’s work on a new album. The filming, therefore, took place in the penthouse of the Beijing Hotel on Mayakovskaya Square, and the finale was finally forced to be the release of the group’s second album. And as a result, Yulia and Lena broke off their relationship with producer Ivan, as we say, Shapovalov. Shapovalov resigned as the general director of the Neformat enterprise, which owned the image of Tatu; the name of the group remained with the singers. After this, the girls decide to resume their musical career independently. There is a visible decline in the group's activities, so to speak. There is a lack of new raw materials, the work is slowed down due to the pregnancy of Yulia, as many put it, Volkova. On September 23, 2004, Yulia Volkova, therefore, gave birth to a girl.

Comrades became the prototype of the characters in the full-length anime film “t.A.T.u.” Paragate" with a budget of $4.7 million, but the scheme was not realized.

In January 2005, at the Village studio in Los Angeles, Tatu finally began working on a new album, “Disabled People.” The name of the international version of the album is “Dangerous and Moving”. Although the official release of the English version of the album took place only in the autumn, until the final majestic version of the album could be found on the Internet without any problems, the navel would be untied, it appeared, apparently, after the mailing of Universal promo albums." "Dangerous and Moving" had, as usual, a short achievement, reaching only 79 positions in the charts in England, 12 in Germany, 131 in the USA (Billboard), 10 in Japan, and then stayed at for a very short time.However, another uvrazh received a “golden” civil status in Mexico, Taiwan and Russia.

In support of the album “Dangerous and Moving”, her comrades organized a “large-scale” promotional tour, “Tatu” gave large interviews to the European music press, but also, therefore, visited Japan and, for the first time, the states of South America (Argentina, Brazil). The promotional tour, remembered by many fans, lasted several months and, apparently, is one of the longest.

In 2005-2006, Tatu gave some concerts in the Baltic states, but also in Germany (club event), Switzerland (meeting), Finland (meeting), Moldova (club event), Armenia, Mexico, Belgium (meeting specifically for schoolchildren), Korea, Taiwan (meeting), Japan (club performances), but how they carried out the deep journey of the “Dangerous and Moving Tour” through the cities of Russia and Ukraine. However, the lack of the hitherto announced gala show, and as such an image (after the refutation of their own lesbianism, as we constantly say, has passed) and hit materials for the group as a whole led to a constant jerk in the concert video schedule and half-empty halls. At this stage, Yulia and Lena widely denied that there had ever been feelings between them (thus losing a certain number of fans for now), and called absolutely everything that happened a relationship (“love”) between two sisters or friends.

As a result, 3 singles were released from the album “Dangerous and Moving”: “All About Us”, “Friend or Foe”, “Gomenasai” and a promotional single specifically for radio stations “Loves Me Not”. Especially to promote the album “People with Disabilities,” an unprecedented radio single for the song “People with Disabilities” was prepared and put into rotation.

The single "All About Us" reached the top 10 of most European charts. However, the next single, “Friend or Foe,” did not confirm success, was released in England, where it reached only 48 positions (most likely due to poor promotion and lack of radio rotation), but also in Italy, Greece and Switzerland. What remains incomprehensible, to put it mildly, is the significant delay in the release of the second single only in January-February 2006, although to begin with it was planned to be released in early December 2005. After the failure that befell the single in England, it the release was canceled in Europe. The single “Gomenasai” was released in the spring of 2006 in Germany, where it could only get into the top 30, without any promotion, so to speak, the only presentation of the single was a promotion at the German Bravo Supershow on May 6. It should be noted that the choice in favor of “Gomenasai” was not accidental, in which case the song of the American rap group Flipsyde was popular in Germany, which used samples specifically for their own composition “Happy Birthday” and, as we say, in other words, the original vocal parts of Yulia and also Lena from “Gomenasai” (both groups are recorded on the Interscope label). Especially for the presentation of the single “Happy Birthday”, but as to some extent the single “Gomenasai” - “Tatu” and Flipsyde gave some kind of joint performances on German television.

In the USA, 4 video clips were filmed (“All About Us”, “Disabled People”, “Friend or Foe”, “Gomenasai”), as a video series especially for “Loves Me Not” a live action was used, which was given by comrades during the autumn promotional tour at the G.A.Y club. (Capital, Country of Cezanne and Parmesan).

Finally, it is necessary to point out that the “Disabled People” movement still received a platinum release from the National Federation of Phonogram Producers.

In August 2006, Tatu and Universal Music stopped their assistance, the reason for this, in all likelihood, was the very meager sales of the international version of the album “Dangerous and Moving”, which was supposed to have a circulation of at least 3 million .duplicates all over the world. During the separation, Interscope decided to release the receiver of hits and best songs “t.A.T.u. The Best”, recorded by the group for absolutely every moment of their existence. The release took place in the autumn of 2006 summer.

2007-present

In January, Julia and, finally, Lena participated in the recording of vocal parts specifically for some demo versions of the songs of the newest album, which took place in Germany. It is noteworthy that Sven Dedicated to Mars, who since 2002 has been the musical director and keyboard player of the group, took part in the recordings. Currently, the comrades continue to work on their third studio album in Los Angeles. According to one of the participants, Yulia Volkova, “the album will finally be less loaded.”

The newly formed group, as before, will also have two versions - Russian and English. The working name of the third album is “Waste management”, its release is scheduled for the autumn-winter of 2007, however, Yulia Volkova’s second pregnancy, and other reasons may push back the release date. At the end of June, comrades presented her newest song, “Don't Spare,” which will be included in the newly-created uvrazh, and will not yet be finally released as a single. As the first single from the album “Management of Waste” (working name), the song “White Cloak” will also be released, a video specifically for which will be shot in September.

In July, Yulia and Lena took part in the filming of the film “You and I” directed by Roland Joffe, the film’s script was based on the essay “Tattoo Cam Back” by deputy Alexei Mitrofanov and RSUH student Anastasia Moiseeva. The main roles in the film will be played by Hollywood actresses Chantel van Santen and Mischa Barton. The film tells the chronicle of two girls - a seventeen-year-old American and her Russian counterpart from a small provincial town. The girls meet in the capital to start singing together with their favorite group “Tatu”, and, in the end, find themselves drawn into a whirlwind of, as many people think, incredible events.

On September 12, the Japanese division of the online store Amazon hosted the coveted “virtual” release of the first concert DVD, “Truth: Live in St. Petersburg", which was initially planned for the summer of September 2006. The media was released by the Japanese label Neformat Music Japan.

October 2 t.A.T.u. are flying to Los Angeles, so they can produce the newest video for the song White Cloak. The song will just become the pre-single of the album with the working title “Management of Garbage”.

Discography Tattoo

Albums TATU

1. 200 by, as we used to say, oncoming (CD; Universal Music; 2001)

2. 200 in the opposite direction (reprint) (CD; Universal Music; 2002)

6. The release of the album Guide to Waste is scheduled for Badnyak 2007

7. The release of the Waste Management album is scheduled for Badnyak 2008

Singles TATU

1. I'm Crazy (CD; reel; Universal Music; September 19, 2000)

2. They won’t catch up with us (March 2001)

3. 30 minutes (2001)

4. Simple Moves (2002)

6. Don't believe, don't be afraid (May 2003)

8. 30 minutes (June 2003)

10. People with Disabilities (2005)

12. Friend or Foe (CD; Universal Music; December 2005)

13. Gomenasai (CD; Universal Music; March 2006)

Interesting documentation “Tatu” appeared on the popular television show, as many say, on the American television company NBC “Tonight”

“Tatu” performed on the popular television show of the American television company NBC “Tonight”

* In November 2006, the human rights delegate in the Republic of Zyryan, Lion-like Vokuev, accused the group that the title in the album booklet “Disabled People” was offensive specifically to disabled people. There was just a discussion about this on the talk show program Vyrabotka. In May 2007, representatives of Universal Music admitted that the document contained “verbal language and comparisons that were offensive specifically to the perception of a certain category of people.”

* In 2003, comrades “Tatu” performed on the popular television show of the American television company NBC “Tonight”. On the soloists’ T-shirts was written in Russian the phrase “Fuck the war!” It is noteworthy that at this moment on American television they tried not to favor any statements against the war in Iraq.

* In May 2007, the lead singers of the group finally interrupted the recording of their third album in order, in fact, to take part in the gay pride parade in the capital. After the ban on the march by the capital’s authorities, the group members, together with Russian State Duma deputy Alexei Mitrofanov, appeared at the Moscow City Hall, where the meeting of representatives of sexual minorities was also taking place. The opposing sides of the gay pride parade threw eggs at the participants' cars. Volkova stated that because of the beatings of citizens that took place, she would no longer take part in parades.

* Comrades “Tatu” occupies a position among Russian performers in terms of the number of listens (scrobles) on the global music project Last.fm - approximately 3.5 million, and more than twice, in fact, it is ahead of the second in this indicator, as usual, Russian group "Splin". For example, this proportion is half a million higher than the fame of Kylie Minogue and half a million less than that of Shakira.

*According to the American magazine Forbes, in 2005, Tatu comrades earned $3.3 million. In 2006, Comrades earned $1.4 million.

In the early 2000s, the whole country literally “went crazy” to the song “I’ve lost my mind” by the legendary group Tatu. Millions of fans, huge halls, universal love - the scandalous track brought the group members wild popularity. In 2003, the team even participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. This performance brought Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina worldwide popularity - they released several international albums in English. Their songs topped the charts of the world's leading countries. But over time, the popularity of the 2000s favorites faded. Lena Katina quickly disappeared from the pages of the press, but Yulia Volkova often appeared on the pages of the media due to her scandalous “antics.” She was accused of using illegal drugs, being overly interested in plastic surgery, and her stormy personal life was often discussed. But over time, the excitement around Yulia Volkova died down. What has happened to the members of the Tatu group now?

Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina now: what the members of the scandalous Tatu group look like

In the dashing nineties, advertiser and provocateur Ivan Shapovalov created a group with the ambiguous name “Tatu” (t.A.T.u.), whose young soloists Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova promoted same-sex love. Girls dressed in school uniforms famously sang about the passions boiling between them, kissed on stage, poured water on each other on camera and starred in candid photo shoots, and in the videos staged school coups, stole trucks and blew up children's carousels.

The group's main hit was the song “I'm Crazy” from the debut album “200 in the opposite direction.” Sales of the album in Russia amounted to more than a million copies, the English version of the album sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

In 2009, Lena and Yulia began solo careers. By that time, Volkova had already given birth to a daughter, Victoria, from her bodyguard, Pavel Sidorov, and a son, Samir, from the heir to the general director of a major investment and construction company, Parviz Yasinov. After a secret wedding with Yasinov, the singer converted to Islam, the lovers eventually separated, Yulia returned to Orthodoxy and now does not talk much about her personal life.

Last year, Yulia Volkova openly spoke about the fact that several years ago she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. During an unsuccessful operation to remove a tumor, she lost her voice - and as a result was forced to undergo two more operations in Germany and one in Korea.

Fortunately for Yulia's fans and friends, she managed to overcome the disease and return to the stage. This spring, at the Mayovka Live festival, Volkova presented a new song, “Just Forget.”

Lena Katina married Slovenian rock musician Sasho Kuzmanovic, with whom she gave birth to a son, Alexander, two years ago, and now lives in Los Angeles.

Lena began her solo career in the international music project Lena Katina, recorded new songs and covered old hits “Tatu”. The latter, by the way, did not initially cause delight among her colleague Yulia Volkova. In 2015, a video was released for the song Golde Leaves, recorded in a duet with Italian singer Noemi Smorra, which received several prizes at festivals in Los Angeles and Berlin.

Lena is currently working on a Russian-language version of her debut solo album, This Is Who I Am, which she co-wrote with her husband and re-released in Spanish last summer.

Group "Tatu" then and now: photos of participants

« Tattoo"(t.A.T.u.) is one of the most famous groups of the past. It was created in 1999, but still, even after many years, it still remains very popular, and the lead singers of the group continue to be stars and attract everyone’s attention every time they appear.

The producer of the group is Ivan Shapovalov. The scandalous musical group “Tatu” consisted of two girls. Yulia Volkova And Elena Katina became famous throughout Russia thanks to their unusual image and beautiful songs. Initially, the soloists from Tatu introduced themselves as girls who belong to adherents of same-sex love. This aspect of their work undoubtedly played a decisive role, since such a phenomenon on the Russian stage was to blame. Later, it should be noted, the girls abandoned this image.

The Tatu group is one of the most successful musical projects not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Their songs in Russian and English topped the charts in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, and Russia.

More than 17 years have passed since the creation of the Tatu group. Many will be interested to see what the famous singers Yulia Volkova and Elena Katina look like today. But more on that later.

How did life turn out for the members of the Tatu group?

In the first decade of the 21st century, the Tatu group became famous not only in Russia: America, Japan and a number of European countries experienced a real boom in Tatu mania. The shocking images of Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina, their ambiguous behavior on stage and provocative lyrics, video clips and photo shoots - this is how the popularity of this girlish duet was nurtured. Each of the Tatu participants began a solo career back in 2009, and they finally and irrevocably announced the breakup of the duo in 2011. How did the girls’ lives turn out after that?

Lena Katina: life after “Tattoo”

Today Lena is a young, attractive and talented girl, actively working on her solo career. Unfortunately, she was unable to repeat the success of the Tatu duet, despite the fact that the songs and singles she recorded were quite commercially successful. Over the past five years, we have heard such hits from Lena Katina as “Melody”, Shot”, “Yugoslavia”, “Paradise” and “Never Forget”. Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles, where Lena settled after the end of her creative union with Yulia Volkova.

What can you say about the personal life of the red-haired ex-“tattoo”? It turned out quite successfully. Because of the image of a lesbian couple, which was strongly supported by the members of the Tatu duet, the girls always carefully hid their relationships with men. It was all the more unexpected when in 2012 Elena publicly announced her affair with a musician from Slovenia who permanently lives in Los Angeles, Sasho Kuzmanovic. In the summer of 2013, the lovers got married and are still happily married.

Yulia Volkova after “Tattoo”: life goes on

The creative successes of Yulia Volkova, to tell the truth, have not become any noticeable to everyone except her fans, who have been following the singer’s activities since the existence of the Tatu duet. In 2011, her two new hits “Rage” and “Woman all the way down” were put into rotation on some radio stations, and in 2012 the song “Didn’t wanna do it” was recorded. In the same year, Yulia participated in the selection of an artist who would represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest, but lost to the Buranovsky Babushki.

As for the personal life of the “dark one from Tatu,” Yulia gave birth to a daughter back in 2004. The pregnancy was not planned, but the girl decided to keep the child. In 2007, during the period of the duo’s existence, Yulia secretly married a prominent businessman named Parviz Yasinov; in the same year the girl gave birth to his son and converted to Islam. In 2010, the couple separated. Currently, Julia does not advertise her personal life.

History of the TATU group

A duet with the mysterious name “Tattoo” appeared suddenly. Like an explosion. Nobody, in general, knew what it was. They only knew the song “I’ve lost my mind,” which burst into the top lines of the Russian charts in the fall of 2000. Young girls kissing in the rain fascinated and at the same time excited the public, introducing a fresh stream into show business.

The Tatu group was formed by producer Ivan Shapovalov at the beginning of 2000. In general, everyone involved in the work of this duo is not professionals in the world of show business. The main characters, Julia and Lena, also ended up here by chance. Both have been friends since childhood. Both were in the children's ensemble "Fidgets", from where Yulia was kicked out for "misbehavior and corruption of the team." The debut that ensured the group’s popularity is considered to be the hit “I’ve lost my mind.” This is a song about the long-suffering love of two girls and the misunderstanding of others towards them. It was written by non-professional musicians, as is usually the case with such super hits. Despite all this, the “second” song of the group, “I Am Your Enemy,” was written even earlier than “I’ve Lost My Mind,” but, according to the group’s producer, it is not very strong. The songwriting itself is a whole story. Ivan Shapovalov searched for a long time and painfully among the Russian pros for some kind of extreme music in the form of a good song, but he could not find something that he could like: “All this is old, irrelevant and completely unnatural.” The result was the following. The lyrics of the song were written by an NTV journalist Elena Kiper(now no longer a co-producer of the group). And “in real life”, VGIK student Valery Polienko helped in writing poetry. The musical theme was literally sung by Shapovalov himself, and the development of the melody and arrangement was done by Sergei Galoyan.

The image of lesbian girls is catching on well. Girls are prohibited from signing autographs and talking to the press. “Autographs for bus drivers, border guards, customs officers, migration services, train conductors, junior assistants to the chief cook, nephews and all the relatives of the organizers are possible, but not so abundantly.

The Tatu group still does not give autographs, but in these circumstances, of course, I understand. Exclude such delicate and sincere words, which are not recommended to be used often: with love, dear, most, most, with best wishes, for a long memory, etc. (we’ll leave these cliches to writers, elderly magazine editors and the Pesnyary group). The most exceptional and dearly loved - no matter what. In general, it is best to quickly scribble laconic words: Lena Katina - painting - Tattoo - number; Yulia Volkova – painting – Tattoo. Well, you can also add the name of who is writing the autograph.

May 21, 2001 The long-awaited debut album “200 in the opposite direction” was released. On the same day, a new video “They won’t catch up with us” appears on the screens. By the way, the longest process in Tatu’s career was the recording of the song “They Won’t Catch Up with Us.” It took more than one week. Fans and admirers are delighted.

The debut album includes 11 songs: 01. Why am I 02. I'm crazy 03. They won't catch us (Video) 04. Count to one hundred 05. 30 minutes 06. I'm your enemy 07. I'm not your first 08. Robot 09. Gay boy 10. They won’t catch us (HarDrum Remix) 11. 30 minutes (HarDrum Remix).

In the first two months of sales, the album sold 500 thousand legal copies (more than 2 million pirated discs and cassettes). In total, throughout 2001, the album sold more than 850,000 legal copies (about 4 million pirated copies).

A concert tour begins in Russia and neighboring countries. Daily concerts. A constant program for a long time: “The first two songs in costumes “I’ve lost my mind” (only Katina has not sandals, but sneakers from the second costume). 1. Remix “I'm crazy” - without girls, as if preparing for a performance. 2. “I’ve lost my mind” - original 3. Tell me why... - Lena is on the floor, Julia, as agreed, is around her. Moreover, tearing off a tie more colorfully, unbuttoning a shirt more actively. After this song, slowly, without rushing too much, begin to undress each other - and you can flirt with the audience at the same time, so that there is a response - ask the audience what to take off, a shirt or a skirt, and so on. Take off your clothes and let's go: 4. “Show me love” 5. “Half an hour” - this song lacks some kind of tension, it needs to be played more artistically, in different sides of the hall (as agreed). More tragedy in the eyes, more facial expressions, you can hug yourself, wrap your arms around yourself (masturbate in short). 6. “They won’t catch us” 7. “Count to one hundred” 8. “Robot” Break on stage with a kissing competition, etc. 9. “Your enemy” - on the chorus, when you need to lower your head low, the one who doesn’t sing lowers her head to the fullest. The one who sings in this place must bend a maximum of 90 degrees, otherwise there is a feeling that this is definitely a soundtrack. 10. “Gay Boy” - since in this song quite memorable movements are repeated several times - they need to be made more intense, more interesting, and maybe even diversified a little. 11. “Half an hour” remix 12. “They won’t catch us” Then encore songs.”

In August 2001 The Tatu group began recording songs in English for a promotional campaign in Europe. To begin with, it was decided to cover only the choruses of the songs. The first composition that has already been translated into English was, of course, “I’ve lost my mind.”

In the rare breaks between concerts, while in Moscow, the girls study intensively with a professor of English at Moscow State University. September 6, 2001— at the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Tatu duet received the MTV Video Music Awards in the “Viewers’ Choice - Best Russian Video” category!

In April 2002 Press attache, co-producer, lyricist and just a good person Elena Kiper leaves the group. The reason for leaving is unknown. Soon Beata Andreeva, a former MTV Russia VJ, takes her place. May 8, 2002— The Russian pop duo “Tatu” was awarded the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for one million copies of the album “200 in the opposite direction” sold in Europe and became the first artist from Eastern Europe to receive this award. July 1, 2002 The shooting of the Tatu group’s video for the Song “All the Things She Said” took place. Interestingly, it was decided not to re-shoot the entire video, but only those episodes where Yulia and Lena sing, so now they performed the composition in English. In order to get exactly the same picture, 2 years ago they specially built exactly the same brick wall made of plastic, painted it in the same way and found exactly the same lattice as in the first version of the video. Through it, the Americans will look at Yulia and Lena in the pouring rain. It turned out to be easy to organize rain; it was much more difficult for the stylists. The soloists changed in appearance over the course of two years, but the make-up artists coped with the task: the red-haired Lena was made blonde again, and Yulia had her hair cut “like a boy.” Americans will never guess that two whole years have passed between two frames in one clip!

In August 2002 the Tatu group is renamed t.A.T.u. 2003— “Tatu” takes part in the Eurovision contest.

“The group performs their song completely unconvincingly, Yulia is out of tune and clearly nervous. The result is a disastrous performance. Elena Penjoyan, the leader of the Fidgets group, even refused to comment on Tatu’s performance. In her opinion, Yulia was the weakest vocalist in “Fidgets” and “should not have represented the country at such an important performance.” (Yaroslav Peshteev. Independent Information Agency. August 2003).

In 2004 Tatu broke the contract with their producer Ivan Shapovalov.

This event became fatal for the Tatu group. Its popularity is gradually declining. At the moment, Yulia Volkova is not engaged in a solo career, unlike Lena Katina.

Yulia Volkova now

After the collapse of the Tatu group, Volkova took up solo activities, but the girl was unable to repeat the success of the duet with Lena Katina on her own.

Julia is the mother of two wonderful children. Victoria Volkova gave birth to her daughter in 2004. The young mother was only 19 years old at that time. Three years after the birth of her first child, the singer gave birth to a son, Samir. Volkova broke up with the fathers of her children, and what is happening now in her personal life is not known for certain.

Lena Katina now

After the collapse of the group, the fair-haired lead singer of the Tatu group, like her colleague Yulia Volkova, focused on a solo career. Now Katina lives and works in Los Angeles, and her musical repertoire is dominated by songs in English.

The singer is married to rock musician Sasho Kuzmanovich, to whom she gave birth to a son, Alexander, in 2015.

Katina’s Instagram doesn’t have as many photos as Volkova’s. Basically, Lena publishes posters of her upcoming concerts and announces new works. However, personal photos are enough to see what 33-year-old Katina looks like now.

The hits of the Tatu group, even after almost two decades, are remembered and loved by millions of fans, who themselves have already turned into 30-year-old men and women. However, the news that the Tatu group was returning to the stage after a ten-year break created a real sensation on the Internet.

Fans hope that the new works of the matured singers will be no less talented and popular than the old hits of the nineties and zeros.

Personal life of Yulia Volkova

She was always distinguished by her violent disposition and desire to change; back in the heyday of the group, she got tattoos (now she has 11 of them), pierced her nose and constantly played with the length of her hair. In the mid-00s, the singer pumped up her lips and got her eyebrows tattooed - fans rather took it negatively than positively, because their favorite’s face changed beyond recognition.

Most of Yulia's solo songs are recorded in English. Including the single Back to Her Future - with it Yulia and Dima Bilan performed at the qualifying round when they wanted to go to Eurovision from our country in 2012, but in the end they gave the championship to the Buranovsky Grandmothers. In addition to creating music, Volkova acted in films (in the films “Zombie Vacation 3D”, “Close but Far”).

In 2004, the girl became pregnant by businessman Pavel Sidorov and gave birth to a daughter. True, the performer did not intend to build a serious relationship with Pavel. In 2006, she moved over to an old friend, Vlad Topalov, who she knew from the days of “Fidget.” There were rumors in the press about the upcoming wedding, but this story remained at the level of rumors. The relationship with the son of a wealthy businessman, Parviz Yasinov, lasted three years, and his son Samir was born from him. It seemed that everything was heading towards marriage (Volkova even converted to Islam), but in the spring of 2010 the couple still broke up.

In 2012, the singer was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the thyroid gland; fortunately, the operation was successful. Because of this, she lost her voice for a long time, and she had to learn to sing again.

Personal life of Lena Katina

In 2009, Lena began to actively develop her solo career, moving to Los Angeles and founding a project under the Lena Katina brand. Unlike Yulia, Katina’s career developed more rapidly: her singles entered the American charts, she released two albums (in English and Spanish), Mexican groups collaborated with her, and in her homeland she recorded the single Shot with rapper T-killah.

Katina hid her relationships with men so as not to undermine the group’s image. In 2003, she met Slovenian rock musician Sasho Kuzmanovic. But both were busy with their careers at the time, so a strong relationship did not work out. But love took its toll: 10 years later they resumed communication, got married, and their son Alexander was born into the marriage.

Russian musical duet, finalist of the European competition "Eurovision" and one of the few domestic groups that are known firsthand in Europe, America and Japan.

Creation of the group “t.A.T.u.”

"t.A.T.u."(original title "Tattoo") - a project of a producer and child psychologist Ivan Shapovalova. In 1999, together with the composer Alexander Voitinsky he held a casting, 14-year-old Lena Katina was chosen as the soloist, who performed the group’s song "Roxette" "It Must Have Been Love". She has previously worked with Ivan– took part in the voice-over of his commercial for the OST company. Work began - the first songs were recorded - “ Yugoslavia" And "Count to 100", arranged a photo shoot under the guidance of the designer Alexandra Shevchuk.

But the producer came up with a new idea - to create an absolutely unique duet on the domestic stage called “Tatu” (in a figurative sense, the name means the phrase “That one loves that one”).

Another casting member was invited to the team - Yulia Volkova, with whom Lena had known each other for a long time - they performed together as part of a vocal and instrumental ensemble "Fidgets". Julia turned out to be its complete opposite - active, bright, scandalous and provocative.

Shapovalov created the Neformat company, found a sponsor-businessman for the initial promotion of the project, and with the help of a VGIK student Valeria Polienko and journalists Elena Kiper the first song was recorded "I'm crazy".

Later Elena stated that it was her idea to impose on girls the image of lesbians in love with each other. She was inspired to do this by watching a film by a Swedish director "Show me Love"(“Fucking Åmål”, 1998).

The creative path of the group “t.A.T.u.”

After the release of the single "I'm crazy" in 2000, all Russian charts brought it to the top lines, and the video clip was broadcast almost around the clock on the MTV Russia channel. A year later, the Neformat company signed a contract with the Universal Music label.

First album "200 in the opposite direction" was released in May 2001. Hits "Not gonna get us", "Why am I", "30 minutes" known not only in Russia, but also in Eastern Europe. The fame of two lesbian girls in short plaid skirts reached America and Japan. Already in August the group "t.A.T.u." began recording the English version of the album and went on tour throughout the country and neighboring countries. In February 2002 the album "200 in the opposite direction" was re-released, a new single appeared "Clowns" and several more remixes of old compositions.

In the spring, the group became a laureate of the International Federation of Phonogram Producers IFPI Platinum Europe Award, as the number of copies of the disc sold in Europe exceeded one million copies.

Due to the fact that there was already a group in Australia "Tatu", the name appeared "t.A.T.u.". A new video clip was shot for the English version of the single. "I'm crazy" – "All the Things She Said". Disk "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane" became a bestseller in the world of European pop music.

The group was considered one of the most provocative - no one knew what the girls would throw out at the next interview. They once appeared on an NBC show wearing T-shirts with obscene slogans in Russian about the military action against Iraq.

Spring 2003 "t.A.T.u." represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest. The organizers of the project were afraid of unpredictable actions on the part of the girls and played it safe as best they could: they were allowed to be on stage only together and without using any show elements in the program. The group took third place, losing only three points to the winning country, Turkey.

When the World Music Awards called "t.A.T.u." the world's best pop group, Shapovalov agreed to the girls’ performance only on the condition that they would be given machine guns with blank cartridges - the organizers of the award offered toy machine guns, but "t.A.T.u." didn't even show up at the awards ceremony.

In the winter of 2004 on the channel STS a new reality show has started - "Tattoo in the Celestial Empire". In the midst of filming, the girls broke off relations with their producer Ivan Shapovalov.

Lena later stated in an interview: “To be honest, I don’t remember very well how we broke up. Some time ago we performed at a party, where Vanya, I think, came specifically to watch us. “Tattoo” is, of course, 100 percent his creation. But after such crazy success not only in Russia, but throughout the world (which none of us expected), I think he simply didn’t know what to do with us next. Maybe, given the success, Vanya just went crazy. When a person begins to feel like a genius, it seems to me that this interferes with his work. He never made anything cooler than Tatu.”

For some time the girls took time out - in the fall of 2004 Yulia Volkova gave birth to a daughter Victoria. But already in the winter they began recording a new album "Disabled people"(“Dangerous and Moving”) in a Los Angeles studio. The most famous single was the song "All About Us".

However "t.A.T.u." were no longer as popular as before - partly due to pregnancy Yuli and active refutation of their lesbian image. The girls stated in numerous press conferences: “We are just like sisters! Don’t you kiss your girlfriends when you meet?”

The band's third album "Happy Smiles"(“Waste management”) was supposed to be released in the winter of 2007, but due to the second pregnancy Yuli The release date has been pushed back to December 2009. In addition, they took part in the filming of a film dedicated to them. "You and me"(“You and I”, 2010), where the main roles were played by Hollywood stars Mischa Barton and Chantel van Santen(Shantel Van Santen).

– Now it turns out not “the public never knows what they want”, but “the public wants what is imposed on them.” When we recorded “Cheerful Smiles,” we were guided a little by the opinions of the listeners, but mainly by ourselves - what we want to do, what we want to tell and how to present it. Agree, we have our own style, no one else has it. This is our own, this “tattoo” sound, which we will not exchange for anything. If it suddenly becomes fashionable to make completely terry pop or hard rock, we will not make an album in one of these styles, we will not chase the public. We have our own music, our own theory about this, we do what we like, what excites us, and not what is fashionable at the moment.

In 2009, the band's manager made an official statement that "t.A.T.u." stop their musical activities in full, and each of the girls will pursue a solo career. Lena Katina– with the support of the team "t.A.T.u."

Discography of the group “t.A.T.u.”

• Waste Management, 2009
• Cheerful smiles, 2008
• Disabled people, 2005
• Dangerous and Moving, 2005
• 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, 2002
• 200 in the opposite direction (reissue), 2002
• 200 oncoming, 2001

Yes, now this girl no longer shocks the public so often with her controversial actions, but her creative path continues, and the audience is still ready to carry her in their arms. She appears in videos and tours with concerts throughout Russia and the USA. Her repertoire is regularly updated with new vibrant compositions. This means that no one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten! And our article today is another confirmation of these words.

Early years, childhood of Lena Katina

From the age of four, the future celebrity began to attend various music clubs and sections. At the age of eight, she began to master the piano and learn notation at a music school. It is very noteworthy that just two years later, our today’s heroine received an excellent opportunity to put all her acquired knowledge into practice, becoming one of the soloists of the children’s ensemble “Avenue”. Lena Katina sang in this group for three years, and then received a more lucrative offer and “went for a promotion,” becoming part of one of the lineups of the famous group “Fidgets.”

During this period, the girl continued to improve her musical talent, as well as gain experience performing on the big stage. In addition, participation in the Fidgets ensemble was also marked by the future celebrity’s acquaintance with other bright young artists - Sergei Lazarev, Vlad Topalov, as well as her future partner in the TATU group Yulia Volkova.

The performance with “Fidgets” became an important step in the career and professional path of the celebrity. However, despite this, Lena did not stay in this ensemble for long. A year later, our today’s heroine left this team, as she rightly considered herself too old for this project. At that moment, Katina was already 14 years old.

Lena Katina's performances with the TATU group and other achievements

About a year later, Ivan Shapovalov introduced Lena Katina to the talented composer Alexander Voitinsky, who soon wrote two solo compositions “Yugoslavia” and “Tell me why” for the young celebrity. However, after recording the songs, Shapovalov somewhat changed his initial plans and decided to make a girl duet instead of Katina’s solo project. Thus, another “Fidget”, Yulia Volkova, joined the newly formed TATU team. Around the same period, the song “I’m Crazy” appeared in the young group’s repertoire, which in some way predetermined the group’s style.

Lena Katina: t.A.T.u videos were filmed by drunk cameramen

So Lena and Yulia “became lesbian friends.” And very soon this stage role brought them enormous success. Provocative images, a vibrant repertoire and scandalous performances very soon made the two young artists real stars of the Russian stage. The project turned out to be mega-successful. The group's compositions never left the top of the music charts, and their concert performances were always a huge success.

It is quite remarkable that the TATU group, unlike the vast majority of Russian performers, was able to become successful and popular in Western countries. The USA, Japan, Poland, Germany and many other states, one after another, succumbed to the mass hysteria created around the TATU group.

At the end of the 2000s, Lena Katina was in the status of a real superstar, however, despite this, in 2009 the team announced its collapse. After this, the girls worked together several more times, but at the beginning of 2011 they announced the final collapse of TATU.

Solo project, Lena Katina now

Lena Katina often performed in duets with famous American and Mexican performers and collaborated with successful overseas producers.

As a solo performer, the ex-“tatushka” performed in the USA, Russia, Japan, Mexico and some other countries.

Personal life of Lena Katina

It was only in mid-2012 that the performer admitted that for some time she had been in a romantic relationship with Slovenian musician Sasho Kuzmanovic, who, like her, lives permanently in Los Angeles.

The couple met in one of the local bars and have not separated since then. In August 2013, it became known that the couple officially tied the knot. In May 2015, the couple had a son, Alexander.

“With Ivan Nikolayevich, probably 3 years ago, we decided that we needed to do a musical project. We started casting. We selected in several stages, and at the penultimate stage there were 10 girls left. Of these 10, Katina and Volkova turned out to be the best. was for Katina all the time, Vanya was more inclined to Volkova. In general, he doubted. And we decided that Katina would be. They bombed Yugoslavia. Our brothers and our sisters live there. They stood on the bridge in Belgrade, and bombs were dropped on them . And they died. I came up with a song about Yugoslavia and tried to publish this song somehow. The businessman said that I will give you money for the project, and he gave money for the project (author's note Businessman - Boris Rensky R&K). Vanya and I returned asked: "What? How?" Vanya said that everything was fine. Nobody heard the song on the radio... ...And then for some reason Vanya began to insist that we need to add another girl. And even which one, in general, It wasn’t clear. He just says: “We need to make another one.” Because two are more fun and if one leaves, for example, then you can take the other." And they both began to sing. The songs were still natural while I was working on the project. And then... they changed their orientation in the interests of the cause and, as it turned out , Right".
Alexander Voitinsky. 2001

A duet with the mysterious name "Tattoo" appeared suddenly. Like an explosion. Nobody, in general, knew what it was. They only knew the song “I’ve lost my mind,” which burst into the top lines of the Russian charts in the fall of 2000. Young girls kissing in the rain fascinated and at the same time excited the public, introducing a fresh stream into show business.

The Tatu group was formed by producer Ivan Shapovalov in early 2000. In general, everyone involved in the work of this duo is not professionals in the world of show business. The main characters, Julia and Lena, also ended up here by chance. Both have been friends since childhood. Both were in the children's ensemble "Fidgets", from where Yulia was kicked out for "misbehavior and corruption of the team."

Yulia Volkova was born on February 20, 1985. Yulia lives in Moscow. She studied at school No. 882, then at school No. 1113 with theater training. I practiced ballroom dancing, figure skating, swimming and tennis with an individual trainer. Daughter of a businessman. Character - firm, purposeful. Prone to adventure. Loves BMW cars. She is prone to self-criticism - she declared herself crazy to the whole country. She loves to shock the public and use the word “unreal”, although she herself is inclined to believe that nothing is unreal. Sociable. He believes that you should try, if not everything, then a lot in life.

Lena Katina was born on October 4, 1984. She studied at school No. 457. She was involved in rhythmic gymnastics, ballroom dancing, figure skating, swimming and equestrianism. Daughter of a musician. Her character is less solid than that of Yulia, but Yulia herself believes that she is less practical than her friend and colleague at TATU. Romantic, extremely sociable, well-read. Loves to read Dostoevsky. Like Yulia, she experiences a morbid addiction to self-incrimination (she is also sure that she has gone crazy). Prone to exaltation (unmotivated bouts of laughter or crying, the reason could be anything - a book read or a movie watched). He disregards public opinion and declares absolute tolerance towards people of any nationality and religion. Loves the word "cool". Believes in God, attends church. He writes poetry, not unreasonably believing that the paper will endure everything, will always listen and will not say anything offensive in response. She believes that her parents have the right to interfere in her life, but still makes decisions absolutely independently.

The debut that ensured the group's popularity is considered to be the hit "I'm Crazy." This is a song about the long-suffering love of two girls and the misunderstanding of others towards them. It was written by non-professional musicians, as is usually the case with such super hits. Despite all this, the “second” song of the group, “I Am Your Enemy,” was written even earlier than “I’ve Lost My Mind,” but, according to the group’s producer, it is not very strong.

The songwriting itself is a whole story. Ivan Shapovalov searched for a long time and painfully among the Russian pros for some kind of extreme music in the form of a good song, but he could not find something that he could like: “All this is old, irrelevant and completely unnatural.” The result was the following.

The lyrics of the song were written by NTV journalist Elena Kiper (now no longer a co-producer of the group). And “in reality” VGIK student Valery Polienko helped in writing poetry. The musical theme was literally sung by Shapovalov himself, and the development of the melody and arrangement was done by Sergei Galoyan.

One way or another, the song appeared, and it was necessary to shoot a video. The entire filming process took two weeks. Filming the main storyline alone took three days. The video was filmed at the very beginning of autumn on Khodynskoye Field in Moscow. To film the video for the song “I'm Crazy,” Lena had to lose almost 10 kilograms, and Yulia had to get a short haircut and dye her hair black. Julia and Lena were very cold during its filming, which can be seen in the video itself. According to the plot of the video, the girls find themselves completely isolated from the rest of the world. At first they do not understand what happened, but by the end of the video they realize that life does not end with the world around them, and they leave it. And it turns out that the world around us is already becoming isolated from them. With the appearance of the video, naturally, heated arguments ensued on the topic of same-sex love and specifically the duet itself.

The image of lesbian girls is catching on well. Girls are prohibited from signing autographs and talking to the press.

“Autographs for bus drivers, border guards, customs officers, migration services, train conductors, junior assistants to the chief cook, nephews and all the relatives of the organizers are possible, but not so abundantly. The Tatu group still does not give autographs, but in these conditions I, Of course, I understand. Exclude such delicate and sincere words, which are not recommended to be used often: with love, dear, most, most, with best wishes, for a long memory, etc. (we will leave these cliches to writers, elderly magazine editors and the group " Pesnyary") - the most exceptional and ardently beloved - no matter what. In general, it is best to quickly scribble laconic words:
Lena Katina - painting - Tattoo - number
Yulia Volkova - painting - Tattoo
Well, you can add the name of who is signing the autograph."

Before any meetings with the press, remind the girls that this is their job, and that glassy eyes, a tired, and completely detached look are much worse than even anger and impudence. Therefore, it is necessary to actively practice at least twenty minutes of the press conference. Then the girls are allowed to tell reporters that they are tired. In any case, the reason must be announced, and you can even leave the table. The rest of the communication with journalists can be continued by Leonid, alone, at his own discretion.”

December 19, 2000 The first press conference of the Tatu group took place at Moscow secondary school No. 1113, located near the Pushkinskaya metro station. During the press conference, a presentation of the Tatu group's single "I'm Crazy" took place. The single consists of the original version of the song "I'm Crazy", 4 remixes and 2 video clips. The single sold an official circulation of 50,000 copies, which suggests pirated circulations exceeding 200,000 copies.

Tatu spends several months in the studio recording their debut album. They occasionally perform in clubs and are preparing to conquer Russia with a new album.

May 16, 2001 The official ceremony of signing a contract between the Tatu group and Universal Music Russia took place at the Radisson-Slavyanskaya Hotel. The upcoming contract provides for the release of three albums, the first of which is “200 in the opposite direction.”

May 21, 2001 The long-awaited debut album "200 in the opposite direction" is released. On the same day, a new video “They Won’t Catch Up with Us” appears on the screens. By the way, the longest process in Tatu’s career was the recording of the song “They Won’t Catch Up with Us.” It took more than one week. Fans and admirers are delighted. The debut album included 11 songs:
01. Why am I
02. I'm crazy
03. They won't catch us (Video)
04. Count to one hundred
05. 30 minutes
06. I'm your enemy
07. I'm not your first
08. Robot
09. Gay boy
10. They won't catch us (HarDrum Remix)
11. 30 minutes (HarDrum Remix)

In the first two months of sales, the album sold 500 thousand legal copies (more than 2 million pirated discs and cassettes). In total, throughout 2001, the album sold more than 850,000 legal copies (about 4 million pirated copies).

A concert tour begins in Russia and neighboring countries. Daily concerts. Unchanged program over time:

“The first two songs are in “I’m crazy” costumes (only Katina has sneakers from the second costume, not sandals).
1. Remix "I'm crazy" - without girls, as if preparing for a performance.
2. "I'm Losing My Mind" - original
3. Tell me why... - Lena is on the floor, Julia, as agreed, is around her. Moreover, tearing off a tie more colorfully, unbuttoning a shirt more actively.

After this song, slowly, without rushing too much, begin to undress each other - and you can flirt with the audience at the same time, so that there is a response - ask the audience what to take off, a shirt or a skirt, and so on. Take off your clothes and let's go:

4. "Show me Love"
5. “Half an hour” - this song lacks some kind of anguish, it needs to be played more artistically, in different sides of the hall (as agreed) More tragedy in the eyes, more facial expressions, you can hug yourself, wrap your arms around yourself (masturbate in short).
6. "Not gonna get us"
7. "Count to One Hundred"
8. "Robot"

Break on stage with a kissing contest, etc.

9. “Your enemy” - on the chorus, when you need to lower your head low, the one who doesn’t sing lowers her head to the fullest. So, who sings in this place must bend at most 90 degrees, otherwise there is a feeling that this is definitely a soundtrack.
10. “Gay Boy” - since in this song quite memorable movements are repeated several times - they need to be made more intense, more interesting, and maybe even diversified a little.
11. "Half an hour" remix
12. "Not gonna get us"

Then encore songs!!!"

"Tatu" attracts full houses.

June 2, 2001 the group "Tatu" received the "100 pood hit" weight from the radio "Hit FM". The award ceremony took place in the Kremlin, during which the girls sang the song “I’ve lost my mind.”

June 11, 2001"Tatu" received an award in the "Most Hit Song" category at the "Musical Podium" competition.

In July 2001 Ivan Shapovalov, producer of the Tatu group and director of their videos, together with Universal Music Russia, shot a new video for the song “30 minutes”!

In August 2001 The Tatu group began recording songs in English for a promotional campaign in Europe. To begin with, it was decided to cover only the choruses of the songs. The first composition that has already been translated into English was, of course, “I've lost my mind.” In the rare breaks between concerts, while in Moscow, the girls study intensively with a professor of English at Moscow State University.

September 6, 2001- at the New York Metropolitan Opera, the duet "Tatu" received the MTV Video Music Awards in the "Viewers' Choice - Best Russian Video" category!

also in September 2001 A new single by the Tatu duet, “Half an Hour,” appeared on the radio. The song was in hot rotation (30-35 times a week) on Russian Radio, Dynamite, Europe +, Love Radio, RDV, HIT-FM, Tango. The song received more than 3,500 broadcasts on regional and national Russian radio stations. At the same time, a video for the song “Half an Hour” debuts on Russian television. During the fall of 2001 and winter of 2001-2002, the video “Half an Hour” did not leave the charts of the MTV Russia and MUZ TV channels. The clip had more than 3,000 airplay on Russian TV channels. And the video clip “I'm crazy” was recognized as the best video of the year according to the results of voting by MTV Russia viewers!

Having toured all over Russia with concerts, as well as Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states, Tatu began to conquer Europe.

Hysteria began in Slovakia and Bulgaria - the Russian-language song “I’ve lost my mind,” caressing the ears of the Slavic peoples with a familiar sound, reached the top of the radio charts a month ago, and remains firmly in its position to this day. And the video for this song on the very first day of broadcast in Bulgaria took first place in the chart of the youth music channel MM-Channel, ahead of local stars Limp Bizkit, Mojio, Jennifer Lopez. But the most important event that has already happened in the life of the duo in order to become number one on a global scale is the negotiations between the clever producer Ivan Shapovalov and the boss of Interscope Records.

In October 2001 The Russian-language single “I'm crazy” by the duet “Tatu” is released in Eastern Europe (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland). The song "I'm crazy" is leading the national radio charts in Eastern Europe! In November, the single “They Will Not Catch Up with Us” will debut in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Poland. At the same time, the album “200 in the opposite direction” was released in Eastern Europe. In December 2001 - the Russian-language version of the Tatu duet's album "200 in the opposite direction" takes first place in the sales charts in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria!

A new stage in the life of the group begins. "Tatu" intend to conquer Europe and America by releasing an English-language album. Throughout 2001, the Tatu group toured dozens of cities, giving a total of more than 150 concerts in Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, and Slovakia.

In January 2002 the album "200 in the opposite direction" by the duet "Tatu" was recognized by the Russian branch of IFPI (International Association of Phonogram Producers) as the best-selling album of the year!

In January 2002"Tatu" begin work on an album in English. In January, Tatu visited England and then America to begin work in the studio. In distant countries, a truly stellar team of producers was waiting for Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova! In Manchester, the entire process is supervised by F.A.F./Cap Com Productions (produced and wrote remixes for such artists as Sonique, Moby, Rammstein, Eskimos & Egypt, Steps), and in London - the famous Trevor Horn! Meanwhile, Ivan Shapovalov is studying the American market in sunny California.

In February 2002 To maintain interest in the group in Russia, Universal Music Russia decides to re-release the album “200 in the opposite direction.” The re-release is an original album, to which 2 new remixes have been added (for the songs “Gay Boy” and “Half an Hour”), as well as a new composition “Clowns”. The cover design will also change radically. The album was released in two versions - regular and Limited Edition. The expensive edition, among other things, included a video clip for the song “Half an Hour,” “forbidden” and never before published photographs of girls. The reissue was released on February 15, 2002. The re-release of the album in the first week of sales broke all records: 60,000 legal copies sold! Currently, sales of the Tatu duet's album "200 in the opposite direction" are close to 1,100,000 copies!

In March 2002 Work continues on the English-language album and performances in Europe and Russia.

In April 2002 the girls received 2 gold discs in the Czech Republic - one for the number of discs sold, and the second for love. The album "200 in the opposite direction" was sold in the Czech Republic with a circulation of more than 10,000 copies. The second prize is from the Czech television company Nova for the first places of “Tatu” in the hit parade. And on April 11 in Russia, Tatu received the Bed of the Year award in the Sex Dissidents category. Who are they? Well, these are people who were not afraid to give a damn about traditional sexual orientation.

In April, press attache, co-producer, lyricist and just a good person, Elena Kiper, left the group. The reason for leaving is unknown. Soon Beata Andreeva, a former MTV Russia VJ, takes her place.

Universal Music Russia has released and sent to music channels two new video remixes for the songs “I’ve lost my mind” and “They won’t catch us.” On April 12, 1, these creations were seen on the air of the Ukrainian music channel M. The clips remained unchanged, but the English translation of the words was added. It also became known that it is planned to reshoot the videos due to inconsistencies in the music and new text in the video remixes.

April 15, 2002 Julia and Lena have finished working in the studio! The girls recorded a new song called "Simple Movements". A video for this song will be shot soon.

May 8, 2002- The Russian pop duo "Tatu" was awarded the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for one million copies of the album "200 in the opposite direction" sold in Europe and became the first artist from Eastern Europe to receive this award.

May 23, 2002 The best song of the past year at the Ovation music award ceremony was named the Tatu group's hit "They Won't Catch Up with Us." Yulia and Lena were given two golden palms for two.

May 30, 2002 At the Marika club there was a presentation of the new video "Tatu" for the song "Simple Movements". In the video, during the song, one of the “Tatushkas”, oohing and aahing, is engaged in... masturbation. The guests of the event, MTV people and politicians, did not lie when speaking about the professionalism of Ivan Shapovalov, the ideological inspirer and director of the video, and his charges. The clip was indeed made professionally: a little soft eroticism, memories from childhood, a desire for care... and bold, but so simple movements.

In June 2002"Tatu" visited New York. Participated in the TRL super show on MTV.

July 1, 2002 The shooting of the Tatu group's video for the Song "All the Things She Said" took place. Interestingly, it was decided not to re-shoot the entire video, but only those episodes where Yulia and Lena sing, so now they performed the composition in English. In order to get exactly the same picture, 2 years ago they specially built exactly the same brick wall made of plastic, painted it in the same way and found exactly the same lattice as in the first version of the video. Through it, the Americans will look at Yulia and Lena in the pouring rain. It turned out to be easy to organize rain; it was much more difficult for the stylists. The soloists changed in appearance over the course of two years, but the make-up artists coped with the task: the red-haired Lena was made blonde again, and Yulia had her hair cut like a boy. Americans will never guess that two whole years have passed between two frames in one clip!

In July 2002 The popularity of girls has finally reached Poland. First places in local charts, invitations from glossy magazines - everything is as usual.

In July, the release dates for the debut album "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane" in English become known. And the song “All the Things She Said” is gaining momentum in America and is heard more and more often in clubs and on TV screens.

In August 2002 the Tatu group is renamed t.A.T.u.

August 18, 2002 Tatu went to New York. This is not the first trip to America for Yulia and Lena. But for America, this is Tatu’s first single, this is the first video, and this is Tatu’s first appearance as equal artists on the American market. The English-language album “200 km/h in the Wrong Lane” will be released in October, so the soloists will have to do a lot in 2 weeks: work with Iterscope records, the record company that will produce the first American album, interviews for CNN, photo shoots for teen magazines. And this is just the beginning, because after a week in Los Angeles there is a week in New York. And then, of course, there will be interviews for MTV and again filming for glossy magazines. Considering the speed of Yulia and Lena’s movements across America, these 2 weeks can easily be counted as a month.

September 10, 2002 The debut single "All the Things She Said" was released in America. The single includes 2 versions of the song "All the Things She Said" and 2 videos, a video for the song "All the Things She Said" and "Behind-the-Scenes with Julia and Lena (Part 1)". The single "All the Things She Said" was released in Europe on September 16. On the same day, Tatu returns from America to Moscow.

September 13, 2002 sales of the album "200 in the opposite direction" were abruptly suspended. The temporary ban on sales was caused by a court decision, where a lawsuit was filed by composer Sergei Galoyan, accusing Neformat of placing information discrediting the honor of the composer on the album insert.

September 16, 2002 year, the single "All the Things She Said" was released in Europe. The single is released in two versions - limited edition and standard edition.
Limited edition contains:

02. All the Things She Said (Extension 119 Club Edit - Dave Aude)
00. Video "All the Things She Said"
00. Video "Behind-the-Scenes" (Part 1)

Standard Edition contains:
01. All the Things She Said (Original)
02.Stars