Lesbian attitudes

In a 2003 interview on Liquid News, the girls stated that they preferred not to answer personal questions, those specifically about their sexuality. One reporter mentioned that people did not believe that they were actually lesbians, then another reporter chimed in saying "kiss, kiss." Both girls just laughed, and Katina told them that if they want to see her and Yulia kiss, they can just watch their video. It was also mentioned that t.A.T.u. had reached the top of the charts in the U.K. In late February and early March 2003, the girls flew to the U.S. to promote their new English album. Filming on the reality show Anatomy of t.A.T.u. began during this time. They caused much controversy through the media for their attitude, choice of words, sexuality and their phrase "Hui Voine!" ("Fuck War!"). The girls first wore shirts with this phrase on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but it was the studio not showing the girls' kiss that got people talking. A day later on Jimmy Kimmel Live, they were not allowed to wear the shirts, however Yulia ended up writing the phrase on Kimmel's hand. On Total Request Live, the girls irritated their hosts by ignoring questions, messing around on stage and speaking Russian to each other. The hosts failed to pronounce the group's name correctly (saying it as individual letters) throughout the entire show even after being corrected by Yulia. Ivan Shapovalov was standing in front of the hosts as the show was coming back from commercial break. One of the hosts said "People don't know how this works, it's unbelievable." TRL did not censor the words printed on the shirts, nor the kiss between the girls. The girls also appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly, Craig Kilborn and elisha cuthberg photos sexy MADtv. They also did a photo shoot for Maxim magazine which was included in their May 2003 issue, though photos with their shirts were only available online. The group faced a lawsuit in May after management canceled two concerts, one at the Wembley Arena (Scheduled for May 2, 2003), and another at the Manchester Evening News Arena (May 4). EEM Group, who were organizing the performances, told BBC that they would sue the managers of t.A.T.u. for nearly $500,000 for both canceling and throwing unobtainable obstacles to the EEM Group. BBC also stated that the concerts were canceled due to poor ticket sales, but the group stated it was due to Yulia's vocal cyst.

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. Jelena Sergejewna Katina Yulia, who did not speak fluent English then, enlisted the aid of an English professor from Moscow State University, delaying the recording. The girls continued to tour throughout Europe.

Ivan Shapovalov and his friend/business partner nude TATU 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 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.