t.A.T.u.

Ivan Shapovalov, a onetime producer of television advertisements, put t.A.T.u.—also styled Taty—together after sifting through hundreds of hopefuls during casting sessions at Moscow’s Mostfilm studios. The lineup featured Julia Olegovna Volkova, widely known as Julia Volkova and born in 1985, alongside Elena Sergeevna Katina, recognized as Lena Katina and born in 1984. Taking its name from a globally trendy term, the teenage pop act paired seductive hooks with provocative themes and entered into a recording deal with Universal Music Russia on May 16, 2001. Its first single, “Ya Soshla s Uma (I’ve Lost My Mind),” drew from a narrative centered on a romantic relationship between two adolescent girls and quickly became a major hit that spread worldwide via MTV airplay. Following the release of a follow-up track titled “Nas Ne Dogoniat (They Won’t Catch Us),” the duo unveiled its album 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane. Domestic sales of 200 km/h proved modest after the September 2002 Russian launch, yet the project still generated extensive media coverage focused on the Sapphic elements of Julia and Lena’s shared history. The act resurfaced in 2005 with the album Dangerous and Moving.