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Lesbo Lolitas
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Hailed by pop fans
and censored on Leno.
Who is this t.A.T.u?
by
E ls D ebbaut
t all began three years ago in the strikingly
entrepreneurial (if perverted) mind of Rus
sian advertiser and psychologist (!) Ivan
Shapovalov, never seen in the music business
before. He dreamed of starting a provocative
“project” starring two teen-age girls willing to
act out his vision o f selling music through sex.
To find his two Lolitas, he arranged a
singing contest. O ut of 500 competitors Volko
va Yulia Olegovna (Julia) and Katina Elena
Sergeevna (Lena) were independently selected
to form the hand t.A.T.u.
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Lena’s dad is a distinguished Russian musi
cian, and Julia attended state music school. Both
entered the contest separately hut had formerly
participated together in a children’s music group.
Rumor has it Julia was expelled from the hand for
“unworthy behavior and depravity of collective.”
(Did she talk hack to her elders? Put stink bombs
in toilets? Kiss other girls? No one is talking.)
T he slick Shapovalov promised the duo
instant fame provided they sign a stifling con
tract— tight schtxilgirl outfits and obligatory
onstage kissing and fumbling. T he teens would
have no hand in the creative process or in the
manipulation of their public image.
Redhead Lena (then 16) was immediately
instructed to lose 20 pounds, and Julia (then
15) was to have short, jet-black hair (you
know, to butch her up a little).
T h e group t.A.T.u was bom , and scandalous
music clips with the teens lip-locked and grop
ing each other in white cotton underwear have
rocked the Russian music industry since. T he
acronym stands for “ta lyubit tu” or “that girl
loves that girl.”
T heir catchy pop debut, 200 Km/H in the
Wrong Lane, released with a concurrent barrage
of tabloid advertising, took Russia by storm.
T h e C D and clips were banned in several east
ern European venues, but in most o f the con ti
nent they spread like wildfire.
T he pair do especially well in the European
disco scene; Kylie Minogue fans and electro
pop lovers are in for a treat. T h e attractive,
high-energy tunes and catchy melodies are fair
ly irresistible and entrancing on the dance floor.
The single “All the Things She Said" reached
No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy,
Spain and Austria; has climbed to No. 13 in
Canada; and has reached No. 20 in the United
States. (The album peaked at No. 13).
T he album s English version came out in
the United States last December on Interscope
Records, and it’s no coincidence that Shapo
valov chose producer Trevor Horn— known for
his success with wicked pop acts Pet Shop
Boys, G race Jones and Frankie G oes to Holly-
wcxxl (the outrageous gay band o f 20 years ago,
with its notorious S/M clips).
Since the addition of the English version,
more than 1 million copies of 200 Km/H have
sold worldwide, and the girls arc effortlessly fill
ing giant stadiums and vast amphitheaters with
their explicitly lesbian stage performances.
Deliberate absence of press communication
and vague explanations about their relation
ship ( “Maybe and maybe not; you know, we are
not going to give you a straight answer”) are
meant to fuel the interest of genuine music
fans and middle-aged drrxiling men alike. But
the tired conventional motions of the girls are
a pretty see-through straight male fantasy, and
their real love interests are starting to show.
IT’S BACK!
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Kiddie pom or artistic expression?
Above: Lena (left) and Julia in one of many,
many undie promo shots. Below: Helping
each other out of their clothes on stage.
In Concert
Journalist Svetlana Makunina writes:
“T hey’ve been hiding two boys from their fans.
T h eir boyfriends are both students.... Nobody
in Russia believes they arc lesbians.”
Song lyrics are unquestionably lesbian, but
none of them are written by Julia or Lena. "All
the Things She Said” was a collaboration of
co-prixlucer and journalist Elena Kiper and
theater student Valery Polienko.
T h e overall message of the debut disc is
simple and simply ironic: D on’t pretend, be
who you are, and express what you feel.
( “W hen they stop and stare/don’t worry me
’cause I’m feeling for her what she’s feeling for
me/I can try to pretend, 1 can try to forget/But
it’s driving me mad, going out of my head.”)
And, heck, that’s not a bad message when
you’re a queer teen-ager. T h e video for the
song depicts the couple falling for each other
with occasional lip-locks. O f course, they’re
garbed in schoolgirl uniforms, but it’s still
undeniably groundbreaking for same-sex
attraction on MTV.
T here’s no question t.A.T.u. is exploiting
images of scantily clad young women, but you
can ’t argue with the outrage around their cen
sorship. T heir videos have been banned by the
British Broadcasting Corp., and during their
Feb. 25 performance on The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno, the camera quickly panned away
when they performed their signature kiss. Both
girls are now over 18; would Leno’s camera
have shied away from an 18-year-old hoy and
girl kissing during a love song? Let’s guess not.
O n the official Internet site www.tatugirls.com,
Lena says, “People love us or hate us hut nobody
thinks nothing about us.” Trxichd. J H
J odi B enson
Voice of Disney's
“The Little M erm aid”
Fri. & Sat., March 28th & 29th
fè iv e r
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C ruise
P ortili
F ri . 7-9PM & io -M idnight * S at . 3-5PM
Show Times
M ingle with Jodi Benson and get a personalized autograph
in this intimate evening o f music and entertainment.
C A L L ( 8 O O ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 O I OR ( 5 0 3 ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 O O
Visit www.portlandspirit.com
E ls DEBBAUT is a Portland free-lan cer writer.
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