t.A.T.u. (Russian: Тату, listen )(IPA: [tä'tu]) (translated: "This there", in feminine grammatical gender form) is a Russian duo formed in Moscow, Russia in 1999 by Ivan Shapovalov. The group consists of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova. Early on, Katina and Volkova put forth an image of a lesbian couple, but their 2003 documentary, Anatomy of t.A.T.u., made it clear that this was just part of the group's image, and that they were not lesbians.
In 2004, the group took a hiatus after they split from their producer. In 2005, they released Dangerous and Moving and Lyudi Invalidy. During 2006, t.A.T.u. released a compilation album and then ventured on their own after negotiating out of their contract with Universal Music.
A third Russian studio album, titled Veselye Ulybki is said to be released after the third single "You and I", while their third English studio album, Happy Smiles, is expected to be released alongside its Russian counterpart.
