Fake lesbians ("Nedeljski Dnevnik" - Slovenia)Time of publication: 15.05.2003 |
After our transvestite Sisters a lesbian couple is now coming to Eurovision
The biggest concearn of the Eurovision contest organisers this year is how the singers of the group tatu, this years russias entry, are going to behave. 18 year old Julija Volkova and Lena Katina have stired up public opinions with their demeanor and videos. They are dressed in school uniformas and claim to be lesbian lovers, in love with eachother, and they don't hide it on stage.
That's why form authorities baned their concerts from time to time, but they are immensly popular. Their songs have reached highest positions on the charts in the UK, Australia as well as Italy and their records sell well even in the US market.
Polititans band them
In some countries local polititans even demanded the ban of their concerts and records. The members of the russian parlament also had a discusion about tatu. Some of them thought that this two "corrupted girls" now represent the culture of the russian nation, who gave world the music of Pjoter Ilich Chaikovski.
The mayor of the Bulgarian city Plovdiv baned their concert right before the visit of pope John Paul II. On a british TV-show they tried to prove that the group promotes paedophilia. Even the famous american TV host Bill O'Reilly, appealed for the ban of the group on his conservative TV-network Fox News. Some even labeled this kind of music as paedo-pop.
However many people still fell that this two singers aren't any worse then other young musicians who sell their sexual image to sell records. This people imply that it's all just a commercial gimmick, in which two young actreses just do as they are told.
From child psychologist to commercial expert
The integral part of this money-making mashine is 45 year old (WTF - Freddie?) Ivan Shapovalov. He was born in the town of Kotov in the Volgograd region, then graduated from medicine and specialized in child psychiatry. He attended a seminar where he gained the knowlage of mass psychology, and decided to leave psychiatry and make use of his new found skills. He established an agency for the researsh of public opinion and got into political marketing, so he helped polititians win elections. Then he started making commercials for different products and was very successful at it. He moved to Moscow in 1993. He began his cooperation with different ad agencies and became the russian representative of a big american ad-agency.In 1998 he lead the representation of the car Ford Mondeo for the russian market.
Around this time he also began shooting videos, and was so full of good fresh ideas, that he expanded his activities to the musical field. Because he was so good at it he soon became a musical producer, and started to cooperate with the composer Aleksander Voytinski, because of his lack of music skills.
He chose Lena among 500 girls
He payed $300 and rented a hall in Moscow, where the casting took place. The casting was for young girls who could became stars with his help. 500 girls attended and he chose the then 15-year old Lena (she was 14 - Freddie). She was born on october the 4th in 1984 and just starded secondary school. She already had some experiance in the music field, as she sang in the child pop group Naposedi (that's how it was writen- Freddie). Voitinsky wrote some songs for this Moscow secondary school (? - Freddie), however Shapovalov quickly realized that he won't be successful with only one girl. He found Julija Volkova - born march 20th in 1985 - (?) who then attended the school of arts, and has also sang in the Naposedi group. The girls starded to perform together under the name of Tatu.
shapovalov knew that he had to shock the public, to gain interest in his new stars, something that will make people talk even without the music. Because he was an expert in advertising, marketing and mass psychology he realized that the group had a chance only if something provocative was shown, so he shocked the russian public with the girls aledged homosexuality.
he named the group Tatu, which means Ta djevushka ljubit tu djevushku (this girl loves that girl). He build the image to the last detail and dressed them in short school uniforms. This move more then payed of. The group recorded their first video in april of 2000 and it reached the top of all russian charts just a month after that. The first record I'm going mad has sold more then a million legal copies, and even 4 million pirate copies.
They quickly conqured the west
However this was only the beginning og their stardom. Shapovalov made a deal for 3 albums next year with the Universal Russia record company. The first one titled "200km/h In The Wrong Lane" has by then sold more then a million copies and the group was begining to get popular In the Chech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
But Shapovalov's main intent was to break ground on the western market. He was sure only the fresh original idea can be successful there and tatu was just that. Never before has a musical group provoked such public displays of lesbianism among teenagers. He began collaborating with one of the best western musical producers Trevor Horn, who had much experiance, as he worked with such groups as Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds and Frankie Goes To Holliwood. He was brought in to establish the group in the UK. The song I'm going mad was re-writen in english and it became All The Things She Said. The verses directly talk about the two girls being in love.
The song has reached top position in the UK in a very short time, but the concert tour was a complete failiure. Some concerts had to be cancelled, because the lack of ticket salles, and the girls were warned in London to behave themselves, because their fans were mostly teenageres. If they didn't follow the rules the concert would be terminated before the end.
Lesbianism is fake
Julja Volkova and Lena Katina behaved like they are in love all the time. They were instructed to do so by their manager. They even kissed in the video and some pictures were published of them kissing. Interviews were a similar story. Lena Katina told the BILD newspaper that they are going to get married if they win eurovision. However they are completely different in real life. Not long ago russian singer Vlad Topalov - who was seen with Yulia having a romantic dinner together - spoke out. The media started to say that the lesbianism between the members of the group tatu is fake and just a gimmick to shock and bring them succes. "Of course it's completely made up. I know this for sure." Both girls have steady boyfriends, but they try to hide them from the public's eye. "Some time back, me and my friend Sergej fell in love with Yulia. It was an akward situaltion for all three, because Yulia couldn't decide who she liked best. I met up with her several times in places where we knew reporters wouldn't recognize us. Yulia insisted on this and she kept repeating: if we're seen together my careera will go to hell!" Now she's with Sergei, she chose him. "Julija and Lena are two girls who build their carreras on an unusual image. Nobody has been successful at it yet, and I hope that they make it..." told the rejected lover of Julija Volkova.
Translation by Freddie
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