History Music / TATu

* BoomerangBigot: Zig-zagged when it comes to LGBT people. Julia Volkova is openly bisexual and perfectly fine with women having relationships with other women but she is intolerant towards gay men as she stated in 2014 that she would disown her son if he was gay.

* BoomerangBigot: Zig-zagged. Julia Volkova is openly bisexual and perfectly fine with women having relationships with other women but she is intolerant towards gay men as she stated in 2014 that she would disown her son if he was gay.

* BoomerangBigot: Zig-zagged. Julia Volkova is openly bisexual and perfectly with women having relationships with other women but she is intolerant towards male homosexuals as she stated in 2014 that she would disown her son if he was gay.

* Irony: Julia Volkova identifies as bisexual while Lena Katina doesn’t and yet Lena is one of the very few Russian celebrities who is outspoken about their support for LGBT rights while Julia has stated that she would disown her son for being gay.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Frequently went without in photoshoots early on, and their later live performance outfits were the burlesque outfits they wore in the video for "Sparks" without their shoes on.

%%* PeekABangs: Majority of Yulia's hairstyles.

With their relationship deteriorating and both girls having mutual desires to start solo careers and distance themselves from their "t.A.T.u." images, Volkova and Katina parted ways and t.A.T.u. broke up in early 2011. Aside from a quick reunion in 2012, Katina and Volkova have generally been out of contact with each other.

Things started looking up in late 2013 and early 2014, with a few one off appearances and rumors of a new single or album. However, fans were devastated after Lena posted on her Website/YouTube that she was breaking off the reunion due to Yulia's management essentially giving her a "my way or the highway" ultimatum and threats of shutting down her solo career within Russia. They did, however, reunite to perform 'Not Gonna Get Us' at the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi UsefulNotes/OlympicGames during Team Russia's entrance.

As it turns out, they did manage to record one song together during this time, a Russian language only song called "Love in Every Moment", to be featured in a short film. By the time the song came out, their relationship had deteriorated to the point of their scenes for the music video being recorded seperately, and the song being billed as "Julia Volkova and Lena Katina".

The name t.A.T.u. is originated from the original Russian Cyrillic name for the band "Тату". In Russian language, 'ta (та)' means 'that [feminine, nominative]' and 'tu (ту)' means 'that [feminine, accusative]' to be a shortened version of the Russian phrase 'Ta lyubit Tu (та любит ту)', meaning 'This girl loves that girl'. It also doubles as the word for "tattoo".

The name t.A.T.u. is originated from the original Russian Cyrillic name for the band "Тату". In Russian language, 'ta (та)' means 'that [female]' and 'tu (ту)' also means 'that [female]' to be a shortened version of the Russian phrase 'Ta lyubit Tu (та любит ту)', meaning 'This girl loves that girl'. It also doubles as the word for "tattoo".

%%* ADateWithRosiePalms: Julia in the video for "A Simple Motion".

t.A.T.u. was a duo girl group consisting of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, originating from Moscow, Russia. Internationally speaking, they are the most renowned band to ever come out of Russia, routinely playing to audiences of 50,000 fans and selling more than 5 million copies of their debut album, ''200 KM/H in the Wrong Lane''.

Their first single, "Ya Soshla S Uma (I've Lost My Mind)," or the English version "All The Things She Said", dealt with a love affair between two girls. The song was set to a music video where Yulia and Lena were depicted in Catholic schoolgirl uniforms imprisoned in some form of cage while a crowd of people look on as they kiss in the rain and try to escape. Their music videos only became more controversial, with "Prostye Dvizheniya (Simple Motions)" depicting Yulia masturbating while Lena went about her daily routine. During this phase, they released the Russian ''200 Po Vstrechnoy'' and the English version ''200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane''.

* ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' (2002)

** ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' is mainly about realizing and coming to terms with being gay, as well as the problems that can come with it (feeling different and being outcast).

* NoExportForYou: During the first album sessions, a stripped down song called "Prostye Dvizeniya" was recorded but ultimately left off the album. An English version called "A Simple Motion" was also recorded and cut. "Prostye" was reworked into a heavy dance track for the first Remix album in 2004, and "Simple Motion" was finally released on the 10th anniversary edition of 200 km/h in The Wrong Lane, but to the irritation of some completionists, neither the original stripped down version of the Russian track or a remixed version of the English track have ever been released or leaked.

* WhamShot: Near the end of the "White Robe" video, Julia has her robe removed as she is chained to a post for the firing squad to aim at her, and we finally see that [[spoiler: she is heavily pregnant]].

* RefugeInAudacity: Julia and Lena are both Orthodox Christians, with the former previously converting to Islam. They also live in a very conservative country. You wouldn't be able to tell any of this by watching their videos.

*** Ironic since Julia's the apparently homophobic one.

%%* YaoiFangirl: Those ladies suuuuuuuure like their sexy gay guys
%%** [[SubvertedTrope Well]]... [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/19/tatu-singer-gay-son-yulia-volkova_n_5850098.html not so much for Yulia anymore]]...

** t.A.T.u. was created by Shapovalov generally as an outfit for him to fulfill his sexual fantasies and desires, which was the main driving force of their early public image (the schoolgirl outfits, faux lesbianism, etc.). A large controversy erupted around the "All The Things She Said" video with many politicians and commentators viewing it as generally pedophiliac in nature (Lena and Yulia were 14-15 when it was filmed, and it depicts them kissing each other in schoolgirl outfits, with upskirt panty shots thrown in for good measure). Shapovalov's response? He admitted that he was attracted to underage girls and that he thought up the idea for the group while surfing underage porn on the internet.

** t.A.T.u. was created by Shapovalov generally as an outfit for him to fulfill his sexual fantasies and desires, which was the main driving force of their early public image (the schoolgirl outfits, faux lesbianism, etc.). A large controversy erupted around the "All The Things She Said" video with many politicians and commentators viewing it as generally pedophiliac in nature (Lena and Yulia were 14-15 when it was filmed, and it depicts them kissing each other in schoolgirl outfits, with upskirt {{Panty Shot}}s thrown in for good measure). Shapovalov's response? He admitted that he was attracted to underage girls and that he thought up the idea for the group while surfing underage porn on the internet.

* AnimatedMusicVideo: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGS1XjFpe0 Gomenasai]].
* AssholeVictim: Yulia's [[AttemptedRape would be rapist]] in the music video of "All About Us".

* TheBaroness: Lena in the music video for "White Robe".
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Early Yulia.
* BoomHeadshot: How Yulia kills her would be rapist in the controversial "All About Us" music video.
* BreakupSong: Plenty of songs on ''Dangerous and Moving.'' and ''Waste Management''.
** Meta example is "Never Forget", a song Lena wrote about Yulia after the duo disbanded in early 2011.

* ComingOutStory: Arguably the entire first album (though moreso the English version than the Russian version).

* DamselOutOfDistress: Yulia in the music video for "All About Us". [[BoomHeadshot And holy shit how!]]
* ADateWithRosiePalms: Julia in the video for "A Simple Motion".

* DressHitsFloor: Lena's clothing in the video for "Beliy Plaschik" or "White Robe".

* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Both Lena and Yulia have plenty of female fans.
* FanDisservice: See AuthorAppeal above.

* FauxYay: Obviously Lena and Yulia.

* GayAesop: Perhaps the entire first album.
* {{Gayngst}}: Possibly the entire first album. "All the Things She Said" is the most glaring example. (its original Russian title even goes "I've Lost My Mind").
* GenreShift: From Eurodance to Pop Rock to Electronic Rock to Electronic Dance Pop.
* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Lena and Yulia. Also, their backup dancers.
* GirlsBehindBars: Yulia in ''Beliy Plaschik/White Robe''.

* IconicOutfit: Guess what?
* IncompatibleOrientation: "Malchik Gay", literally meaning "gay boy."

* KaleidoscopeEyes: Lena.

* LingerieScene:
** Lena in the beginning of the "White Robe" music video.
** Both of them in "220".

* NewSoundAlbum:
** ''Dangerous And Moving''.
** Also, ''Happy Smiles/Waste Management''.

* QuirkyCurls: Early Lena.
* PantyShot: Mostly in the music video for "All The Things She Said". In the video for "All About Us", Julia is seen in her underwear before the AttemptedRape, while "White Robe", Lena is explicitly shown changing in one scene. In concerts, Julia mostly wears leotards.
* PeekABangs: Majority of Yulia's hairstyles.

* RedOniBlueOni: Yulia is the red to Lena's blue.

* SexySoakedShirt: In "All The Things She Said".

* StalkerWithACrush: Their song "Fly on the Wall".

* TitleOnlyChorus: ''Nichya''
* TheyKilledKennyAgain - Their videos:
** They run over their manager in "Not Gonna Get Us"
** Yulia performs a suicide bombing on Lena and her lover in "30 Minutes"
** "White Robe" features Yulia being executed, with Lena actually giving the order
** "Snowfalls" has them crashing into eachother on their bikes to evade police capture.
** Lena's solo debut "Never Forget" is set at their mutual funeral. Possibly from the bike crash.
* ThoseTwoGirls: Literally what their name means in Russian.
* TitleTrack: ''Dangerous And Moving''.

* WhatBeautifulEyes: Perhaps Lena's main physical asset.

* YaoiFangirl: Those ladies suuuuuuuure like their sexy gay guys
** [[SubvertedTrope Well]]... [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/19/tatu-singer-gay-son-yulia-volkova_n_5850098.html not so much for Yulia anymore]]...