Katina and Volkova knew each other before starting t.A.T.u.; both sang in the popular Russian children's pop chorus, Neposedi (Непоседы), from which Volkova was allegedly banned for "inappropriate behaviour" (Volkova once implied that it was because she had molested the other girls in the chorus; later she said it was for smoking, drinking and swearing. Neposedi denied that she was expelled). Not long after Volkova left Neposedi, Katina did the same.
Shapovalov originally chose Lena Katina at a casting in 1999 to sing a song about the war in Yugoslavia. Later, he decided to form a duo and added Yulia Volkova (who had been in the same casting as Katina). Both were 14 at the time. Shapovalov has claimed that the idea for t.A.T.u.'s image was his. Elena Kiper, Shapovalov's former lover and originally deputy manager of t.A.T.u., says that the idea was hers. She fell asleep at her dentist's, had a dream in which she kissed another woman and awoke remembering the words "Ya soshla s uma" (meaning "I've lost my mind"), the title of the song she then wrote the lyrics for that became t.A.T.u.'s first single. Kiper has also stated that their ideas for the group's image were influenced by the 1998 Swedish film Fucking Åmål, directed by Lukas Moodysson. Shapovalov and Kiper later fell out over his non-payment of her royalties.
Originally, t.A.T.u. was named ТАТУ (Tatu). When they became popular outside Russia and it was discovered that there was already an Australian band with that name, the spelling was changed to t.A.T.u. outside Russia. It is still occasionally written in the Latin alphabet as Taty or Tatu. The original name comes from a collocation of "ta" and "tu" [pronounced 'too'], two forms of a Russian feminine demonstrative pronoun "ta" in its nominative and accusative cases. It can be translated as "This female [does something to] that female."
The band is known for acting irreverently and having an insolent attitude towards the press. "People either love us or hate us", said Katina, "but no one ignores us". More than one of their videos have been banned; for instance, the video for the hit song "Prostye Dvizheniya (Простые движения)/Simple Motions" shows how simple moves are always in our lives, like drinking water, reading a book (which is what Katina does during most of the video) or masturbating (which is what Volkova does during most of the video).
The video clip for t.A.T.u.'s first English/Russian single (Ya Soshla S Uma (Я сошла с ума)/I've Lost My Mind) - the original version of their English song "All the Things She Said" - was banned by MTV Russia (after unbanning it won People's Choice Award at MTV's Russian Awards) and by the BBC and others. It shows them dressed up in high school outfits (similar to the Catholic school uniforms that are common fetish items), behind a fence, screaming out in anguish, begging for their parents' forgiveness, shaking the fence, and kissing passionately. At the other side of the fence, older people and peers stare at them in disapproval. At the end of the video, Katina and Volkova turn around and leave hand in hand. The closing shot shows that the disapproving crowd are the ones lined up behind the barbed-wire fence, in a way, imprisoned in their own minds.
After enormous success in Russia, t.A.T.u. released 200km/h in the Wrong Lane in 2002, an English-language version (co-produced by Trevor Horn) of their Russian debut album. The debut English-language album sold over five million copies around the world. In fact, their single "All the Things She Said" was used as the entrance theme of WWE Diva Victoria from late December 2002 to May 2004.
In order to play up the lesbian angle of their image, most of their performances usually included at least one instance in which they kissed passionately. This act was usually censored whenever the duo appeared on American television programs.
The lyrics and videos of their songs suggested that the girls were in a lesbian relationship. Sometimes in interviews they stated that they were in real life in a lesbian relationship, often giving outrageous details of their supposed sex life, but more usually, questions in that direction were evaded by statements, such as "Don't be afraid to be yourself, don't be afraid to love", or that they did not like labels.
t.A.T.u. represented Russia at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest where they were considered the favourites to win. Volkova did not take part in rehearsals because of inflamed vocal cords and their performance turned out to be rough at first, but ended fairly well. t.A.T.u. claim they would have won Eurovision if the Irish telephone votes had been counted, rather than coming 3rd. They later stated "Eurovision is for beginners...we were already artists and only attended because our country asked us to attend."
--Wikipedia
RUSSIA