From Woman to Woman (Eres Magazine)Time of publication: 24.02.2003 |
From the cold Russian lands, Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina have gone from shy teenagers to loud pop stars in less time than you can pronounce the word vodka. Being the most commercial duet that has ever come from that country, they are t.A.T.u. (or Taty in russian). Get ready for them to rock your world, even if you don't understand what they are saying.
The Malevolent Mind
Manager Ivan Shapovalov thought it would be an excellent idea to get a pair of teenagers with gay tendencies and expose them to the public as the ultimate cry of modern thought in terms of pop music. With this in mind, Shapovalov had a casting to which over 100 girls assisted from all over Russia, from there Lena Katina (redhead) and Yulia Volkova (brunette) came, the perfect combination for everyone to like, whether you were homosexual or heterosexual, young or old, feminine or masculine. In 1999, Tatu was formed, choosing this name since it was an universal word.
The Moment of Truth
"Nobody can deny our existence," says Lena in a defiant tone, and since the duet appeared for the first time in Europe with their single "Ya Soshla S Uma", known on our continent as "All The Things She Said", scandal has returned to the world of pop. The song tells the story of two girls that fall in love and decide to show it to the whole world around them. Surprisingly, the song went up to the top 10 in Europe, and MTV Russia gave the video the award for best video of the year. The fire had been started, but North America was still missing out.
I Don't Speak Russian
The United States is a very difficult market for international pop, that's why Kylie Minogue and other artists have had to work very hard to be accepted in that territory. The first disadvantage t.A.T.u. had was, of course, the language; for Americans, it's almost a requirement that all songs are in English. But Lena and Yulia also had the difficult task of going past Britney Spears and all her wannabes. "Our songs are not stupid, says Lena."We are not making up an image, and we are not selling anything we are not living. In Russia, life is not hypocritical, we say what we think." The sincerity of this duet is their secret weapon, they landed in the country to the north with lots of controversy, which immediately drew attention.
The Wrong Way
Lena and Yulia have known each other for a while, way before t.A.T.u. was created. They are both music students and had already participated in a musical group called "Nesposedy", in which they sang just for the fun of it. Their CD, "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane", was produced by Trevor Horn, who has worked with "Pet Shop Boys", "Seal", and "Simple Minds".
Yulia
Date of Birth - Feb. 20, 1985
Place of Birth - Moscow, Russia
Hobbies - Tennis, swimming and skating. She loves to party.
Lena
Date of Birth - Oct. 4, 1984
Place of Birth - Moscow, Russia
Hobbies - Horseback-riding, swimming, dancing, skating and gymnastics. She hates parties.
Translation and Transcription by Vanilla. |
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