In today’s crowded pop music market, for an artist or group to celebrate 10 years in the industry is quite the accomplishment. Even though Russian faux lesbian dance/pop duo t.A.T.u. officially broke up back in 2009, their music remains very much relevant today. On November 12th, 2012Cherrytree Records/Universal Russia will commemorate the band’s lasting impression with the release of a special 10th Anniversary Gold Edition of their landmark December 10th, 2002 debut album, 200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane. The repackaged album is set to include the never-before-released song, “A Simple Motion,” a new Fernando Garibay remix of “All The Things She Said,” plus more remixes and newly re-mastered songs. This is the next best thing to having the girls reunite. I’ll take it!
It’s hard to believe that 10 years have gone by! I still remember seeing the album sitting there in the “Review Drawer” when I was working as a music reviewer for my college paper, The Indiana Daily StudentWeekend Edition. t.A.T.u. (AKA Lena Katina & Julia Volkova) first crashed onto the scene with their insanely groundbreaking and catchy dance/pop JAM “All The Things She Said” back in 2002. The song, which infused pop, rock and electronic elements together into a high-energy, mesmerizing summer dance track was written by Sergio Galoyan (Marilyn Manson, Jennifer Lopez, Valeriya), Trevor Horn (Grace Jones, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Seal), Martin “Cherry Cherry Boom Boom” Kierszenbaum (Cherrytree Records label head, Lady Gaga, Natalia Kills), Elena Kiper and Valeriy Polienko and produced by Horn. The song was a bonafied SMASH hit, topping the charts in several countries, including a 4-week run at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. Here in the States, t.A.T.u. also saw success, with “All The Things She Said” earning the girls their first Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single served as an accurate sampling of what we’d later hear on the girls debut album, featuring the trendsetting production stylings of Horn, Kierszenbaum, and Robert Orton (mixer for Jennifer Lopez, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lana Del Rey).
Following the release of t.A.T.u.‘s flawless debut album, the band became the FIRST-EVER eastern European group to achieve platinum status in ANY language, quite the feat! 10 years later, t.A.T.u. remains Russia’s most successful musical export, selling over 6 million units and laying claim to one of the decades most critically acclaimed pop albums. Now, that’s staying power and the girls should be proud of themselves. The girls released their sophomore album, the not as successful Dangerous and Moving in October of 2005, followed by their third and final album, Waste Management, after they had already broken up in December of 2009.
While Lena and Julia are no longer performing together as one, they haven’t turned their backs to music, which is definitely a good thing. In 2011, Lena Katina released her first mainstream dance single, “Never Forget” which reached #1 on MTV Russia’s Top 10 and also one the MTV Russia Video of the Year in 2011. The song also saw success in the U.S. where it peaked at an impressive #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, thanks to a re-working by Grammy-nominated DJ/producerDave Audé. The now Los Angeles-based Katina, currently working on her own solo record also served up some pretty sick dance/pop collaborations, including one with Mexican synthpop superstars Belanova (“Tic-Toc“), one with German-born/LA-based artist/producer Clark Owen (“Melody“) and most recently with Russian rapper T-Killah (“Shot“).
Lena’s t.A.T.u. cohort Julia Volkova has also been busy working on her debut solo album, most recently releasing the single “Didn’t Wanna Do It” back in August of this year. It served as Volkova’s second official single, a follow up to 2011’s “All Because Of You.” Volkova has also been trying to make it as an actress, first appearing in the 2008 film You and I with Lena Katina and Mischa Barton (the film was never released here in America), then in the 2012 Russian horror-comedy 9 1/2 Zombies, on which Julia also contributes to the film’s soundtrack.
The 10th Year Anniversary Gold Edition of 200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane will feature all new artwork, a never-before-released song from the girls’ 2002 recording sessions, remixes and more! I’ve always been a closet t.A.T.u. fan, but now – 10 years later I think I’m ready to come out.
