T.A.T.U means L.O.V.E. in Russian (By Olga Forsgren) Time of publication: 01.03.2003 |
How many of us ever wished the world was beautiful, peaceful and filled with love? How many artists, actors and musicians tried to express this feeling in their work? Probably millions! T.A.T.U. is doing it in its own way trying to make the world a better place.
T.A.T.U. is a Russian group, consisting of two people: one is Lena and the other is Yulia. T.A.T.U. is here for us now and forever. Two rebellions from Moscow with smashing hits and beautiful souls. We may call it "underage sex", "bizarre", "a marketing ploy". But is it really so? I wonder if I ever heard them say those words. I guess it's about us. It's about our attitudes and perceptions, a crazy race with decayed values immobilized by political barriers and misdeeds of the governments.
During my interview in Prague, when I ask Yulia and Lena where the secret of such a success lied, the answer was simple, "Openness, inner drive and sincerity."
Yulia says that an artist must always be emotionally close to the public. His or her soul must lie visibly with the people. Lena adds that all their songs are about their own lives and feelings. They say, there's a part of themselves in every single song.
Don't they sing, "They don’t understand us!" in the song Not Gonna Get Us? We obviously don't!
They are called "controversial", "perverted" and are drowned in all the gossips of the yellow press. Well, bravo! How many of those journalists know that old people come backstage and give them flowers, thank them for what they are doing - bringing love back to people. Why the whole arena gets quiet and people light the candles when Yulia and Lena sit beside a girl in a wheelchair and sing a whole song only for her? What is so perverted about it? Do we care for these moments, regardless whether the singers are gays, bisexuals or aliens? Oh yes, their having boyfriends is a such a hot topic for all interviews!
When listening to their music, the perspective of one's vision starts to change. We are free, brilliant, democratic and great! This is what T.A.T.U. makes you feel. It's their message.
They praised American society in my interview for being open, democratic and progressive. The machine of show business, to their own opinion, gives options to the consumers to decide whether a certain song is good or not before the visual information is presented to the audience. T.A.T.U. came to the States with their openness, their message of love. What do they receive in return? A hysterical censorship on one of the late shows where they appeared live! Superb!
They are chased by world-press, threatened with the knives and bottles on stage and accused of all possible sins. I wonder how they feel at those moments. Lena and Yulia just shake their heads. "We are not afraid of anything," they say. "If you carry love in your soul which you give to your fans, you need to live with this love," adds Yulia in such way that it could only be the most common knowledge in the world.
"You are a star and I'm a star...", goes their rap section in the song Stars. They surely are. A star quality that is seen from a distance, an inner glow, sparkles, a cascade of emotions. Stars of their own kind, free spirits of the Universe.
T.A.T.U. means L.O.V.E. in Russian!
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2003 Olga Forsgren. All rights reserved. |
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