t.A.T.u. (Russian: Тату, pronounced [tɐˈtu] ⓘ, lit. 'tattoo') are a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian record label Neformat. t.A.T.u.'s debut album 200 Po Vstrechnoy (2001) was a commercial success in Eastern Europe, and that resulted in the duo signing with Interscope Records to release its English-language counterpart, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002). The album was certified platinum by the IFPI for one million copies sold in Europe and became the first album by a foreign group to reach number one in Japan.[A] It was also certified gold in the United States and the United Kingdom, and included the international hits "All the Things She Said" and "Not Gonna Get Us". The duo represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Ne ver, ne boysya", finishing third.
t.A.T.u. released their second international album, Dangerous and Moving, alongside its Russian equivalent, Lyudi Invalidy, in 2005, with the group reaching moderate success after parting ways with Shapovalov. The former was promoted with the international hit "All About Us". The duo ventured into other projects, such as creating their own production company T.A. Music and promoting the film inspired by their story, You and I (2008). Their last pair of albums, Vesyolye Ulybki and Waste Management, followed between 2008 and 2009, respectively. t.A.T.u. officially broke up in 2011, with Katina and Volkova pursuing solo careers.[9] In subsequent years, they have reunited several times to perform, most notably at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[10]
