t.A.T.u.

t.A.T.u. is a duo girl group consisting of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, originating from Moscow, Russia. Internationally speaking, they are the most renowned band to ever come out of Russia, routinely playing to audiences of 50,000 fans and selling more than 5 million copies of their debut album, 200 KM/H in the Wrong Lane. The two girls met when they were thirteen years old and were both members of a children's vocal and instrumental group called "Neposedy" ("Naughty Children"). At fourteen, Ivan Shapovalov cast Lena Katina in his new project and she recorded the single, "Yugoslavia," about NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia. Shortly after, Ivan decided to add another female singer and chose Yulia Volkova.

The name t.A.T.u. is originated from the original Russian Cyrillic name for the band "Тату". In Russian language, ‘ta (та)’ means ‘that [female]’ and ‘tu (ту)’ also means ‘that [female]’ to be a shortened version of the Russian phrase 'Ta lyubit Tu (та любит ту)', meaning ‘This girl loves that girl’. Their first single, "Ya Soshla S Uma (I've Lost My Mind)," or the English version "All The Things She Said" dealt with a love affair between two girls. The song was set to a music video where Yulia and Lena were depicted in Catholic schoolgirl uniforms imprisoned in some form of cage while a crowd of people look on as they kiss in the rain and try to escape. At the end, there is an ironic twist where the girls escape and it is revealed the crowd were the ones truly imprisoned - by their own minds. Their music videos only became more controversial, with "Prostye Dvizheniya (Simple Motions)," depicting Yulia masturbating while Lena went about her daily routine. During this phase, they released the Russian 200 Po Vstrechnoy and the English version 200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane.

Infamously, they refused to perform at the World Music Awards unless provided with real guns. Lena said, "We wanted real machine-guns, but they didn't give us, so we wouldn't perform, that simple." Brazenly, after promising not to kiss on The Tonight Show, they engaged in a long, passionate wet one -- much to the alarm of anxious network censors, (and well before Britney and Madonna's little stunt). And yet, when expected to do the same on Jimmy Kimmel, they deliberately censored themselves. Yulia said, "Basically, because we like to do what we want, a lot of people are, like, 'you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that, you shouldn't behave in this way.' But you know what? Actually for us, we are the way that we are, and we don't really live in fear of anybody. So, if we behave in a certain way, then that's just actually the way we are."

In 2004, t.A.T.u. legally fired Ivan Shapovalov, their producer, from their project because they did not believe he took their music seriously. Yulia Volkova said, "He spends his time thinking up scandals instead of planning our artistic work. I'm sure our fans would rather hear new songs and new albums than new scandals." Lena Katina added, "He made us out to be lesbians when we were just singing for lesbians. We wanted people to understand them and not judge them. That they are as free as anyone else." They re-formed after Yulia had her baby in 2004 and produced a Russian album, "Lyudi Invalidy (Invalid People)" and the English counterpart, "Dangerous and Moving." Their first single was released with a similar flair of controversy, as Yulia was portrayed splattering a potential rapist's brains against the wall.

The most recent^[when?] album, "Vesyolye Ulybki (Happy Smiles)," and Waste Management in English is also the soundtrack for The Movie, "You and I" or its working title, "Finding t.A.T.u." which is based on the novel "t.A.T.u. Come Back". The film features Mischa Barton and centres around two girls that meet on the internet due to their common love of t.A.T.u. Their relationship then becomes the catalyst for a series of adventures. The content of the movie has Drug Use, disturbing scenes and images, Sexual content, and course language. t.A.T.u. has stated the movie will be very scandalous, and would not deal with the "love and roses" often found in films, but the real scandal and hardships that come along with relationships.

Current Members:

Lena Katina (vocalist)
Yulia Volkova (vocalist)

English Discography

200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002)
Dangerous and Moving (2005)
Waste Management (2009)

T.A.T.u. provides examples of the following tropes:

Attempted Rape: Yulia almost gets raped in the music video of All About Us.
Bait and Switch Lesbians: Lena and Yulia. Just...Lena and Yulia. Shortly after coming out as heterosexuals, Yulia told the world that she was bi and Lena started to suggest that their sexual attraction wasn't entirely nonexistent. And at many concerts and interviews they still kiss each other.
Bifauxnen: Early Yulia.
Bi the Way: Okay so that whole thing about them being lesbians? That's not true, but really, Yulia is bisexual. This time she means it. No, really.
- There's also a great deal of speculation about Lena, due to her ambiguous statements saying that she "doesn't believe in orientation, only love."
Break Up Song: Arguably every song on Dangerous and Moving.
- Meta example is "Never Forget", a song Lena wrote about Yulia after the duo disbanded in early 2011.
Catholic School Girls Rule
Coming Out Story: Arguably the entire first album (though moreso the English version than the Russian version).
Concept Album: Supposedly Dangerous and Moving.
Dress Hits Floor: Lena's clothing in the video for "Beliy Plaschik" or "White Robe".
Even the Girls Want Her: Both Lena and Yulia have plenty of female fans.
Faux Yay: Obviously Lena and Yulia.
Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Lena and Yulia. Also, their backup dancers.
Gayngst: Possibly the entire first album.
Girls Behind Bars: Yulia in Beliy Plaschik/White Robe.
Gray Rain of Depression: The set for the All The Things She Said/Ya Soshla S Uma video.
Hot Mom: Yulia. Have you seen the sexy Maxim photoshoots of pregnant Yulia?
Incompatible Orientation: "Malchik Gay", literally meaning "gay boy."
Rape as Drama: In the video for "All About Us", Yulia shoots a man who attempts to rape her and splatters his brains against the wall.
Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: What Lena called their relationship after they were called on using homosexuality for publicity.
Schoolgirl Lesbians: In the beginning, t.A.T.u.'s manager, Ivan Shapovalov, decided to give the girls a lesbian schoolgirl image.
Stalker with a Crush: Their song "Fly on the Wall".
The Mockbuster: Some could argue that the Russian girl duo TEMA is this. Their songs sound in some ways similar to t.A.T.u.'s and they once attempted to pass off their song Kto Esli Ne Ya as a t.A.T.u. song to gain publicity.
The Movie: A couple years ago^[when?], a movie called "Finding t.A.T.u." was released starring Mischa Barton about two girls so obsessed with t.A.T.u. that they involved themselves in a series of dangerous events.
What Could Have Been: An anime movie, t.A.T.u. Paragate, was in production, but was cancelled before its target release of Winter 2004 due to numerous circumstances, including a fallout between the singing duo and their manager Ivan Shapovalov.
Yaoi Fangirl: Those ladies suuuuuuuure like their sexy gay guys