The Girls Who Shocked Us in the Early 2000s Are Back, and They're Ready to Team Up for a Price

I still remember the early 2000s when the bold and unconventional duo 't.A.T.u.' burst onto the scene and screens.

Crazy to think that just a few years ago, Julia and Lena were part of a kids' collective called 'Непоседы' (which still exists today), and they've since given birth to other notable artists like Sergey Lazarev, Vlad Topalov, and Nastya Zadorozhnaya.

Julia was also active in 'Ералаш', but I don't recall Lena being in any episodes.

What's even more surprising is that just a few years after all this wholesome, innocent stuff, the girls' images took a drastic turn.

And it's not just that they got more confident, prettier, and trendier as they grew older.

But some of the things they did on stage and in their music videos would probably get cut from TV nowadays. Take their song 'Полчаса' for example.

Although nowadays you can find plenty of explicit content online, back then 'рыженькая' and 'черненькая' were relatively tame in comparison to many modern rappers.

But still, they kissed on stage and in their music videos.

They even got soaked on stage, wearing nothing but tank tops.

And their lyrics were:

"Я сошла с ума, мне нужна она"

Or:

"Мальчик гей, будь со мной понаглей"

Their song 'Белый плащик' was even banned, although you can find it on VK now.

And there was plenty more. Although their lyrics were diverse, Lena and Julia were supposed to portray girls with non-traditional orientations. Of course, when Julia gave birth at a young age, they gradually phased out this image.

Those memories still lingered, and their songs were stuck in my head.

t.A.T.u. was a huge hit in Japan, and they even had a 'Snicker's' ad.

In China, they even had a reality show called 'Tatu'. That was the era of reality TV, remember 'Na-na' over the world?

And they even collaborated with Rammstein on 'Moskau'.

They also recorded in the US, with a lot of songs in English. Some of their most famous ones include 'All about us'.

They performed at the Eurovision in 2003 with the song 'Ne ver', 'ne bojsia' and took third place.

But as the decade came to a close, the paths of the two singers started to diverge. Both of them began working on solo projects. And Yulia

and Lena

You can find Lena Katina's solo clips even more now.

Yulia Volkova had serious vocal cord problems, I think even back when the duo was together. But she still performs occasionally, like at retro-disco parties with their old repertoire.

I've got to give a shoutout to their collab with Dima Bilan, 'Love' - a super lit track with a music video that's like a mini-movie, 'Eternal Radiance of Pure Reason'.

About 5 years ago, Ksenia Sobchak made a documentary about the group, based on interviews with the members, their families, and Ivan Shapovalov, the creator and producer of the duo.

They filmed separately, and to be honest, the vibe was that they'd had a falling out and didn't want to perform together anymore. There was even a music video where they performed separately - I'm not sure if I can find it now, given the 'YouTube' situation.

Then, a few months ago, there were headlines about 'Tatushi' being willing to perform together for 15 million rubles. Although each of them wants a million for their own solo performance.

Nice try, ladies!

But, gotta give credit where credit's due - they did perform together in Minsk, and it wasn't the only time.

Anyway, we love 'em and remember them as bold and fearless girls from the 2000s with amazing voices - in our youth, and theirs.