This lesbian duo seems very contrived. I wouldn’t doubt their whole image was manufacted by their agent and assorted Russian mobsters looking to be the next Lou Perlman. Does anyone have the real deal on them?
The new Russian duo TATU, formed by two teenage Russian lesbians, Lena Katina and Julia Volkova, has taken the music world by storm reaching number one in most music charts around the globe. Feisty brunette Julia and soulful redhead Lena, two teenage girls from Moscow are the Russian equivalent of pop-meets-prodigy.
The popularity of the girls did not stop in the West but also made its way to the heart of the Middle East with record sales. TATU’s music, considered to be the most eminent and promising project in Russian youth pop-music, addresses issues that are a metaphor of societal pressure, themes about repression, desire, and the consequences of tough choices regarding one’s sexuality.
Fans claim their music has become popular among youths worldwide due to the fact that they give their listeners the freedom to express themselves and openly admit that many have a trait of homosexuality in them and should express it freely.
Their music had also won the hearts of many Middle Eastern youths who feel repressed due to social pressures and traditions. The idea of two girls demonstrating their homosexuality has also appealed to many Middle Eastern males as being something out of the ordinary. Females who are more bounded by social standards and parental controls felt they could break free from a world that has tied them down.
According to a record storeowner in the Emirate of Dubai, ” TATU have been popular for a much longer time down here than anywhere else due to the large Russian community that lives here. They have received a lot of airtime on the radio stations down here due to the amount of requests these stations receive, which ultimately has pushed their CD sales to record levels.”
Tearing down walls of all sorts throughout world, TATU became the most explosive and controversial act in Eastern Europe especially after the release of their single “Ya Soshla S Uma” (“All The Things She Said”), the story of a love affair between two young girls, whose evocative video was named MTV Russia’s Video of the Year. 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, TATU’s 2001 debut album on Universal Music Russia, sold more than 1,000,000 copies.
The girls’ embrace of lesbianism -and each other in the rain- soaked school uniforms, with hands clasped and lips locked at various times -in their video, “All the Things She Said”, reflect a metaphor about societal pressure.
‘200 km’ is exciting to a certain degree, but thought- provoking throughout with consistent themes about repression, desire, and the consequences of tough choices, reflects how boldly these two teenagers put society’s taboos in the open.
TATU is sincere and honest about themselves and others, refusing to shape themselves according to people. They express what they feel freely without limitations or borders. The girls feel that those who attend their concerts or listen to their music are able to break free from social standards and barriers and are able to express their sexuality more openly.
TATU was formed in 2000 by the former psychologist and advertising executive Ivan Shapovalov, who is now producer of the group. Shapovalov glanced out at a sea of suggestive teen pop and experienced an epiphany, and came together TATU. His goal was to inject a stagnant genre with new forbidden fruits, pushing buttons and ruffling feathers, but stopping just short of being outright lewd.
Julia and Lena had already known each other for several years, while performing for another music group when they came together for TATU two years ago. Both had also studied music formally for 8 years.
Julia is a child of middle-class parents; Lena, the youngest of three, is the daughter of a well-known musician/pop-songwriter father. “We love each other very much but Lena is totally different from me,” says Julia, who has also acted in small films. “She doesn’t like to party; I like to party. She’s more quiet, reads a lot. I don’t like reading.” Yet, the contrasts between sweet, dramatic Lena and energetic, in-your-face Julia complement each other in TATU.
Lena Katina was born on October 4th, 1984, Yulia Volkova on February 20th, 1985. Both Lena and Julia sang in a children’s group “Neposedy”. Julia had to leave the group after she was accused of “obscene behavior and corrupting other singers”. The girls came together to the audition that took place on the Mosfilm studio. They were one of the 500 teens auditioning, but were selected independently and formed their band but under the then name of “Project” which was later changed to TATU – abbreviations from the Russian words: “Ta liubit etu” (Russian for ‘This Girl Loving That Girl’).
The two girls have also concrete views on political issues. As a result of their anti-war actions, Americans now know, what Russian slogan ” XYII to war! ” means…
In the popular Jay Leno’s Tonight Show on NBC TATU sang late last month “All The Things She Said”. The girls performed while wearing T-shirts with an anti-war slogan written in Russian. In that way, the girls have expressed their personal attitude to the expected U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Al-Bawaba Middle East News – March 6, 2003
