After making their big break in their home country of Russia, t.A.T.u., who are still at high school, have caused sparks to fly in America, Europe, Japan and even Mexico and have enslaved teenagers in each and every country. The duo, consisting of Julia Volkova (18) and Lena Katina (18), made their debut in costumes based on the school uniforms of British schoolgirls and have become a hot topic due to the impudence common (?) to girls across the globe. Until now, articles introducing them have been based on interviews conducted by telephone. However, the verdict we've heard from others regarding the Russian girls, with comments such as "They put the phone down on us after five minutes", has made us feel that they are hard to please.
Recently, at a Moscow hotel, we succeeded in obtaining a rare interview with the two girls that lasted an hour (!) In Japan, they became the first new Western group to enter the Oricon chart at No.1, with their debut album "t.A.T.u." Sales of the album have surpassed the million mark and the Deluxe Edition, featuring a DVD, which was released on June 4th, sold more than 300,000 copies in two days. A record company insider told us that, "The momentum is such that they could sell 2 million copies of the two versions combined. The possibility has arisen that they might even appear as the centrepiece of this year's Kohaku Song Contest, via a relay from Russia". We got up close and personal with these charismatic high school girls!
(In the following, F=Flash Magazine, and you know who J and L are :-))
F: You're coming to Japan on June 25th and during your week there you'll be filming a video, won't you?
J: Yes, we're filming our latest promotional video in 4 cities: London, Moscow, Washington DC and Tokyo, with groups of girls in each city wearing the same uniforms as us.
L: I feel that the whole world is going to follow us. The video will have some really shocking scenes, so you should look forward to it.
F: During the filming in Red Square, you were ordered to stop and taken away by the authorities, weren't you? It was something of a topic on Japanese TV as well, you know.
J: We're glad to be scandalous (laughs). Lots of fans gathered for us and people came from Japan to report on us, so we were really satisfied with the filming session!
F: What impression do you have of Japan? (V.typical Japanese question, this!)
J: I think it's a beautiful and interesting place. I imagine it to be like a fairytale, with lots of theatrical decorations and colourful streets.
L: I love Japanese food, particularly sushi. I've heard that the food there is so delicious that, once you've eaten the real thing, you won't be able to eat it in any other country, so I want to go there soon!
F: The lesbian scenes between the two of you in the video for All The Things She Said were something of a hot topic...
J: At any rate, the content (laughs)...the scenes in the rain were cold, anyway! We had water poured over us and it was shot while a cold wind was blowing.
L: There was a van spraying water over us. But although it was tough, it was fun.
F: Apparently you got to know each other 7 or 8 years ago, when you were in the same children's professional singing group, but how did you get together as a duo?
L: We'd been friends since that time and had talked about wanting to set up a group together someday...
J: I quit that group and a little while later there was a casting session for this project. I went to the studio and was told that, "You'll be recording with the girl who's coming along here in a minute." When the door opened, Lena appeared!
L: God or fate brought us together. After all, that was what we'd hoped and prayed for all along.
F: Analyse each other's personality.
J: There are no words in Russian that accurately express Lena. I can't find any. But she's someone who doesn't do bad things to other people; she's a really good, sincere girl.
L: What Julia has just said, I can say about her as well. We have a relationship that's closer than family or sisters, and I'm so happy that she's in my life!
J: Mind you, our personalities are complete opposites. Lena's a quiet, romantic type who likes being at home, and I'm the opposite.
L: She's very energetic.
F: Finally, tell us what your target is.
Both: To conquer the whole world without stopping!
This duo are so popular that there are extreme "idol collages" of them on the net. Watch out for what they say and do in Japan!
Translation by Lenochka0.
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