t.A.T.u.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| t.A.T.u. | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Moscow, Russia |
| Genre(s) | Pop,[1] Dance[2] , Rock[3] [4] |
| Years active | 1999– present |
| Label(s) | Universal/Interscope 2001 - 2006 T.A. Music 2005 - present |
| Associated acts | Neposedi |
| Website | www.tatu.ru |
| Members | |
| Lena Katina Yulia Volkova |
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t.A.T.u. (Russian: Тату, listen )(IPA: [tä'tu]) (translated: "This there", in feminine grammatical gender form) is a Russian duo formed in Moscow, Russia in 1999 by Ivan Shapovalov. The group consists of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova. Early on, Katina and Volkova put forth an image of a lesbian couple, but their 2003 documentary, Anatomy of t.A.T.u., made it clear that this was just part of the group's image, and that they were not lesbians.
In 2004, the group took a hiatus after they split from their producer. In 2005, they released Dangerous and Moving and Lyudi Invalidy. During 2006, t.A.T.u. released a compilation album and then ventured on their own after negotiating out of their contract with Universal Music.
A third Russian studio album, titled Veselye Ulybki is said to be released after the third single "You and I", while their third English studio album, Happy Smilies, is expected to be released alongside the upcoming film You and I.[5]
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[edit] History
[edit] 1999–2000: Formation of t.A.T.u.
Ivan Shapovalov and his friend/business partner Alexander Voitinskyi developed plans to create a musical project in Russia. By the end of auditioning, the two narrowed their search down to ten girls. The final two chosen for the group were ex-members of the group Neposedi, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova.
After completing the duo, the producers decided on the name Тату (Tatu). It is a shortened version from the Russian "Ta lyubit Tu", meaning "She loves her".[6] For the release of their first English-language album, they decided to go by t.A.T.u., using uppercased letters and periods to differentiate between an already existing Australian band also named "Tatu."
The two began to record songs with their producers; eventually, Voitinskyi left the project. Shapovalov decided to sign Elena Kiper as co-producer and co-writer for their debut album.
[edit] 2000-2003: 200Km/h in the Wrong Lane/200 Po Vstrechnoi
In 2002, t.A.T.u. released their debut English album, 200Km/h in the Wrong Lane. It featured the hits[vague] All The Things She Said and Not Gonna Get Us.
[edit] 2003–2005: Hiatus/Reformation
On May 24, 2003, t.A.T.u. represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, where they placed third.[7] Russian television station Channel One protested the Eurovision results, but to no avail. PR director of Channel One said t.A.T.u. received "unlikely low points" from some countries.[8]
On September 26, 2003, the act released a compilation CD of remixes, titled Remixes. In November 2003, the CD was released in Russia, with two new tracks, and videos. The two new tracks were "Prostiye Dvizheniya" (which was previously released as a single but had not appeared on a commercial release before) and "Ne Ver, Ne Boysya."
A DVD compilation of t.A.T.u.'s music videos and more titled Screaming for More was released on November 24, 2003.
Anatomy of t.A.T.u. aired on Russian television on December 12, 2003. The documentary revealed that the girls were not lesbians.
From January to March 2004, STS in Russia aired Podnebesnaya, a thirteen-episode reality show/documentary which chronicled the group recording their second album with producer Ivan Shapovalov. The girls recorded a few songs, some of which were used for their second album. Only a few months after the show aired, Katina and Volkova left Shapovalov, claiming the quality of the music being produced was too low, and that he was only interested in creating scandals. Volkova stated, "He [Ivan] spends his time thinking up scandals instead of planning our artistic work. I'm sure our fans would rather hear new songs and new albums than new scandals."[9]
On September 23, 2004, Volkova gave birth to Viktoria (Vika) Pavlovna Volkova, and she soon returned to the studio with Katina.
[edit] 2005–2006: Lyudi Invalidy/Dangerous and Moving
In August 2005, "All About Us" and "Lyudi Invalidy" were announced to be the first singles from the English and Russian albums, respectively. the song "All About Us" was originally done by the Veronicas but t.A.T.u had requested the song from them. The Veronicas respectively gave it to them to use.
t.A.T.u. released their second English album on October 5, 2005 titled Dangerous and Moving. Its Russian counterpart was released on October 19, titled Lyudi Invalidy.
The second single was "Friend or Foe." Soon after the video was released, the group's management replaced drummer Roman Ratej with Steve Wilson, and appointed a new bassist, Domen Vajevec.
On April 17, 2006, t.A.T.u. returned to reality TV in Russia with t.A.T.u. Expedition, which was broadcast on the Russian music channel Muz Tv. It chronicled the release of their second album, and recording the video for their third single, "Gomenasai" which was released during the airing of the show. t.A.T.u. performed in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 28 kicking off their Dangerous and Moving Tour. On August 30, 2006, the official website announced that the girls had left their record company, Universal/Interscope.
On November 21, 2006, the region of the Komi Republic in Russia filed a lawsuit against t.A.T.u. over the album and song "Lyudi Invalidy". Leonid Vakuev, a human rights representative for the Komi Republic, cited words written in the booklet for the album, which said: "Disabled people [Lyudi Invalidy] do not know what it means to be a human being. They are fakes inside the human form. They do not live, but — function". Katina said, "Of course, we meant moral invalids, people who do not have [a] soul and human feelings." When asked if they had anything against disabled people, she stated that she finds it offensive to refer to people by that term, and added, "We take pictures together and make sure they have priority seats [at concerts]."[10]
[edit] 2007–present: Veselye Ulybki / Happy Smiles
On May 17, 2007, t.A.T.u. issued a statement directed to their gay fans: "When t.A.T.u.'s second album came out, many of our fans of alternative sexual orientation thought that we lied and betrayed them. This is not true! We’ve never done that and we’ve always advocated love without boundaries."[11] On May 26, they flew out to Moscow to take part in the Moscow Gay Pride demonstration.[12]
On September 12, 2007 the group released Truth. It was the group's first release since leaving Universal. In late 2007, "Beliy Plaschik," the leading single from their upcoming album was released. The album's second single, "220", made its radio premiere in May 2008 and the music video was released on their official Youtube channel on June 5, 2008. Their Russian third album was originally to have been titled Upravleniye Otbrosami (Waste Management), and was due out in June 2008. However, on 9 September, 2008, the band issued a press release revealing that the album would be called Veselye Ulybki (Happy Smiles),[13] and is to be released in October 2008. The English-language version, Happy Smiles, is due out later on in the year. So far Volkova and Katina have performed live shows in Russia, Germany, France, Dubai, Italy, Egypt and California. They were due to fly out to America in order to promote and perform at the Avalon Nightclub in Santa Clara, CA but due to Volkova's then ill health, they had to cancel. At the end of August, 2008 it was announced that Volkova and Katina will replace Victoria Beckham in the fall and winter fashion campaigns for designer Marc Jacobs.
In a September 9, 2008 press release posted on t.A.T.u's official website, the announcement was officially made that the new album would be titlted Veselye Ulybki and be released in the coming weeks. It will include 12 songs recorded in the 3 year period. Their new single, "You and I" will be released on Love Radio on September 12.[citation needed]
[edit] Production companies / Management
When t.A.T.u. was first formed by Shapovalov, the group's production company Neformat was born, with Shapovalov and Renski at the head. In 2004, the company was dissolved when t.A.T.u. left Shapovalov.
[edit] T.A. Music
Since 2005, T.A. Music has been the production company of t.A.T.u., which is located in Moscow, Russia. The liner notes that accompanied the release of Dangerous and Moving said that the company was comprised of t.A.T.u., Boris Renski, Dasha Mischenko,and Andrey Artischev.
After t.A.T.u. broke ties with Universal Music in 2006, it was finally announced in 2008 that T.A. Music would become the standing record label for t.A.T.u., although only currently in the Russian market. Boris Renski is still currently the band's Manager.
[edit] Band members
t.A.T.u.'s band has played with them since touring around 2002. All members recorded their 3rd album 'happy smilies'
[edit] Current members
- Sven Martin — Keyboard, musical director (2002-present)
- Troy MacCubbin — Guitars (2002-present)
- Steve Wilson (Myspace) - (Homepage) — Drums (2006–present)
- Domen Vajevec — Bass (2006–present)
[edit] Former members
- Roman Ratej — Drums (2003–2006)
[edit] Discography
[edit] DVD
[edit] Film
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[edit] Tours
- 200 Po Vstrechnoy Tour (2001-2002)
- Show Me Love Tour (2003)
- Dangerous and Moving Tour (2006-2008)
[edit] References and footnotes
- ^ TATU - 200 Km/h In The Wrong Lane (Polydor) Review
- ^ CD Review: t.A.T.u -- 200 km/H In The Wrong Lane - Western Herald
- ^ t.A.T.u. Biography (Rock Musicians) — Infoplease.com
- ^ Рок-группа "Тату" не собрала и половины зала - 26 Декабрь 2006 - All about group t.A.T.u - Site
- ^ "Организаторы Каннского фестиваля поищут дуэт t.A.T.u вне конкурса" (2008-04-28). Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
- ^ t.A.T.u. upstage Koizumi, Kan on live NTV show
- ^ Eurovision 2003 - Riga, Latvia // doteurovision.com
- ^ Russian duo scored zero with Irish voters // doteurovision.com
- ^ Ananova Ltd. "Tatu seeking new name and manager". ananova.com.
- ^ Mornings On BBC. "Katina on Mornings On BBC". tatu.ru.
- ^ "We are addressing gay community in Russia and in the rest of the world" (2007-05-17). Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ "t.A.T.u at Moscow Gay-Pride: It was a military operation" (2007-05-31). Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ [1]
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Prime Minister |
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 |
Succeeded by Julia Savicheva |
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