Elena and Yulia together

In late 2001, t.A.T.u. recorded a video for their third single, 30 Minutes." The single was released in September, and in August the girls were scheduled to begin recording their songs in English. Yulia, who did not speak fluent English then, enlisted the aid of an English professor from Moscow nude TATU State University, delaying the recording. The girls continued to tour throughout Europe.

Ivan Shapovalov and his friend/business partner Alexander Voitinskyi developed plans to create a musical project in Russia. With this idea in mind, Shapovalov and Voitinskyi organized auditions in Moscow in late 1999 for teenage female vocalists. By the end of auditioning, the two narrowed their search down to ten girls, including ex-members of the group Neposedi, Katina and Volkova. Both girls stood out among the others, especially because of their appearance photos lene alexandra and vocal experience, but the producers decided to start with 15 year-old Lena Katina, who sang "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette. Katina began recording demos, including "Yugoslavia" a song about the Kosovo War, which Voitinskyi had written about the turmoil he experienced. After the demos were cut, Shapovalov insisted that another girl be added to the project, so soon after they added on 14 year old Yulia Volkova. In the show Podnebesnaya, Katina stated in January 2004, that the following month would be the 6-year anniversary of Katina and Shapovalov's business relationship. Meaning, the two must have met in February 1998.

On April 17, 2006, t.A.T.u. returned to reality TV in Russia with t.A.T.u. Expedition, Jelena Sergejewna Katina nude which was broadcast on the Russian music channel Muz Tv. It chronicled the release of their second album, and recording the video for their third single, "Gomenasai" which was released during the airing of the show. t.A.T.u. performed in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 28 kicking off their Dangerous and Moving Tour. On August 30, 2006, the official website announced that the girls had left their record company, Universal/Interscope.