Cherrytree Records/Universal Russia To Issue 10th Year Anniversary Gold Edition of t.A.T.u.'s '200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane' November 12th

In today's crowded pop music market, for an artist or group to celebrate 10 years in the industry is quite the accomplishment.  Even though Russian faux lesbian dance/pop duo t.A.T.u. officially broke up back in 2009, their music remains very much relevant today.  On November 12th, 2012 Cherrytree Records/Universal Russia will commemorate the band's lasting impression with the release of a special 10th Anniversary Gold Edition of their landmark December 10th, 2002 debut album, 200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane.  The repackaged album is set to include the never-before-released song, "A Simple Motion," a new Fernando Garibay remix of "All The Things She Said," plus more remixes and newly re-mastered songs.  This is the next best thing to having the girls reunite. I'll take it!

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t.A.T.u.'s Lena Katina Returns to the Dancefloor in Lush New Collaboration

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If you were in or around Moscow on March 29th 2011, then you probably heard the collective whole of Eastern Europe cry out in despair upon hearing the news that faux lesbian electropop duo, t.A.T.u. were splitting up.  The Internet was soon flooded with fond rememberences of the popular girl group.  Condolences were passed along to an inconsolable Mischa Barton, who's critically acclaimed movie about finding love at a t.A.T.u. concert would never get a sequel.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen. March 29th 2011 will be a day that will forever live in infamy. 

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Hot Video Alert: Belanova feat. Lena Katina - Tic-Toc

I first heard the music of Belanova, the Mexican synthpop trio from Guadalajara (AKA Denisse Guerrero on lead vocals, Edgar Huerta on keyboards & programming, and Ricardo "Richie" Arreola on bass), my last day in Mexico while eating breakfast at the Cancún International Airport.  I don't know what music channel was playing in the background, but I liked what I heard and saw. First I was pleasantly surprised to see a new video by French speaking Italian dance diva In-Grid, followed by a catchy track by Belanova (I don't for the life of me remember which song...maybe "Mariposas?" I don't know, it seemed to have live concert footage - can anyone help?). There was something about the band that jived with me, despite my not being able to pick out more than a few words with my bad Spanish.  Perhaps music really does transcend cultures and languages...

"Tic-Toc" was a promotional single released from the band's fifth studio album, Sueño Electro II, featuring additional vocals from Russian singer Lena Katina of t.A.T.u. fame.  The song was released on August 12th as a free download on the band's official site and got the music video treatment in LA, releasing a complementary clip directed by Daniel Robles (see below). The video features some behind the scenes footage with the band and Lena Katina as well as footage from the studio sessions.  While it contains nothing substantive, the video still serves as a nice corresponding visual for the up-tempo electropop track.

"Tic-Toc" actually appeared on the band's fourth album, the equally cleverly titled Sueño Electro I, albeit without Katina and the English lyrics that appear in the new version.  The song is very catchy, reminding me a bit of Tegan and Sara's collaboration with DJ Tiësto, "Feel It In My Bones."  Sueño Electro II debuted at #8 on the Billboard Latin Pop Chart, #15 on the Billboard Latin Albums Chart and at #12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums Chart after it's release September 6th in Mexico, the US and Latin America.

I'm definitely down for more Belanova in my life. I guess I owe the Cancún International Airport as well as my love for t.A.T.u. and Lena Katina a thank you for forcing me to delve a bit deeper into the world of Spanish electropop.  Check out the video featuring the stunning Lena Katina below and download the song on U.S. iTunes HERE.

Check out Belanova on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Check out Lena Katina on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

t.A.T.u. Girls Both Move Forward With Solo Careers

I hate to have to repeat myself but I guess this time it's for real. Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. are no more. Donzo. Broken up. Not recording music together anymore.  It's the end of an era, let me tell you.  Despite having done a post about their break up back in 2009 it didn't become OFFICIAL OFFICIAL until March of 2011 (YEP - I'm a little late). 

In that original t.A.T.u. post, I also happened to mention a little something about Lena Katina (the fiery red head) embarking on a solo career, so in an effort to make this post a little bit more current, I present to you her Lena's first official single as a solo artist - "Never Forget." The single originally premiered back in June on the Mexican radio station FMTU 103-7, but didn't attract any real attention stateside until Perez Hilton posted the video for the single on August 2nd. The video was officially released on Katina's YouTube channel on August 5th and made available to download (along with a B-Side called "Stay") the same day via Such Much Production. The single is a lush, mid tempo pop/rock number that doesn't really stray too far from t.A.T.u.'s original sound.  The only real difference, musically speaking, that I can detect (aside from the absence of Lena's bandmate Julia Volkova) is that the song is decidedly NOT electro pop and that's OK.  The song and the production is quite beautiful, with Lena's voice sounding stronger and more confident than ever.

In the darkly symbolic video for "Never Forget," Lena buries t.A.T.u. once and for all.  Starting out in a morgue, we see the two girls' bodies, including one that's supposed to represent Julia.  The rest of the video is set in some sort of a chapel or mausoleum and a cemetery where we see gravestones for the two girls.  Morbid though it may be, the video is beautifully shot!  The lighting and scenery is absolutely stunning and Lena looks radiant. The clip was produced and edited by Mad Capper Studios. You can watch the censored version below but if you want the full UN-censored version you can check that out HERE.

While I knew Lena was working on an album, here in LA as well as in Europe, I wasn't really sure what Julia was doing or if she was even still singing.  Well, not only is she still singing but it looks like she's delved into acting as well, starring in a zombie movie of some kind.  More excitingly, Julia Volkova will be unleashing her first solo single on the world very soon.  Entitled "All Because of You” / “Sdvinu Mir, the single was first announced earlier this month, when we learned that that Julia had signed with EMI’s Russian affiliate Gala Records. The single was recorded in Sweden this past summer and produced by Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson and Tobias Lundgren – a talented production team that has worked with big names including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Мiley Cyrus, Sean Kingston and Ashley Tisdale. According to Julia's website, the song will also be released in a Russian-language version under the title ‘Сдвину мир’ (Sdvinu Mir). AHHHH-MAZING!

Julia Volkova

Never really known for their vocal prowess, the girls of t.A.T.u. relied mostly on catchy beats and slick production which earned the girls international chart success, especially with their debut English single "All The Things She Said." Written by Sergio Galoyan, Trevor Horn, Martin "Cherry Cherry Boom Boom" Kierszenbaum, Elena Kiper and Valeriy Polienko and produced by Horn, "All The Things She Said" was released back in 2002 where it managed to top the singles charts in 10 countries including Australia, Germany and the UK. Over here in America the single became t.A.T.u.'s one and only Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at #20. Their debut English language album, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane was released in 2002, going Gold in the U.S. AND UK and peaking at #13 and #12 respectively on the album charts of those two countries. Follow up single "Not Gonna Get Us" wasn't nearly as successful as it's predecessor but it did earn t.A.T.u. their first Billboard dance hit.

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t.A.T.u. Breaks Up & Lena Goes Solo

Photo via Official U.S. Website

It's a sad day, pop music fans. It appears that Russian electro-pop girl group t.A.T.u. have broken up. According to their blog, they are still planning on releasing a third Russian-language video off of Happy Smiles and an English language video for their track "Beliy Plaschik" ("White Robe"). Additionally, they duo plans to release 2 special edition versions of the last album - one to be sold exclusively through t.A.T.u.'s website and one through Amazon. While an international release of the album Happy Smiles (the Russian version is available on iTunes) seems to be on hold for the time being, though apparently most of the Russian tracks were also recorded in English so they may yet see the light of day.

Photo via t.A.T.u.'s Official MySpace

As for the future of the group, it appears that a tour has been scrapped as has any future public performances as a duo. While Yulia's plans aren't yet known, Lena has been working on her solo English-language album, working with the team behind t.A.T.u. to create a new sound, with some traces of the old t.A.T.u. sprinkled throughout. Lena has been traveling back and forth between Russia and LA working on her record and hopes to have the first single out the second half of 2009, with the album out shortly after. I wish these girls the best and can't wait to see what's coming next!