'Fake lesbian' pop duo look unrecognisable more than two decades after finding fame with VERY provocative music video - can you guess who they are?

Daily Mail​

10-07-2025

A headline-grabbing pop duo look unrecognisable more than two decades after they first found fame in 2002.
The controversial pop stars burst onto the scene in the early noughties and quickly went to number one in the UK with their debut single.
The music video saw the pair dressed as school girls where they kissed in front of a group of passive adult onlookers.
At the time, the ladies played into a lesbian gimmick where they pretended to be in love with each other and in a relationship.
However, they later admitted that their lesbian persona was a fake marketing ploy cooked up for shock value.
Now, the pair have reunited and promised 'a lot of interesting things ahead' for their fans - but can you guess who they are?
That's right, it's t.A.T.u!
The duo, comprised of singers Lena Katina and Julia Volkova, were rarely off the red carpet following the release of hit single All The Things She Said in 2002.
The video sparked inevitable outrage, and the BBC were forced to deny banning it from their pre-watershed schedule, instead insisting they had better content available at the time.
ITV later refused to play the clip on Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly's Saturday morning show CD:UK, insisting: 'It is not really suitable for children.'
Despite the controversy, the song went to number one in several countries and to number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, still the highest-placing position for a Russian act to date.
They also represented Russia in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest - where they finished third.
Some of their other attention-grabbing publicity stunts included performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2003 wearing T-shirts that had 'f**k the war' written in Russian, and attempting to run for Russian president in 2004.
All The Things She Said would prove to be their high point, with subsequent singles failing to make a similar impact before the band finally parted ways in 2011.
These days Yulia looks vastly different to how she did during her chart-topping past as one half of the Russian group
They have reunited sporadically over the yeards for concerts and have now got together again, posing for a new photoshoot and promising exciting things ahead for their fans.
One of their recent notable gigs was at Gazprom Arena, home of Russian president Vladimir Putin's favourite football club Zenit St. Petersburg, in May 2023 - despite efforts from his supporters to have the pair cancelled for spreading 'LGBT propaganda'.
The pair sang Not Gonna Get us before Zenit St Petersburg's clash with Spartak Moscow, which the home side won 3-2, sealing a fifth Russian Premier League title in a row.
t.A.T.U came out of retirement as Putin's censors sought to expunge any trace of their band amid a hardline crackdown on LGBT propaganda, part of a wave of repressions in Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of the match in front of thousands of Russian fans, they sang: 'Nothing can stop this, 'Not now, I love you', 'They're not gonna get us'.'
Lena is now married to millionaire businessman Dmitry Spiridonov, her second husband, after exchanging vows in 2022.
The star was previously married to Sasha Kuzmanović from 2013 to 2019 and shares son Aleksandr, 11, with him.
Away from t.A.T.u she's released three studio albums so far and topped the U.S. Billboard club chart with her 2011 single Never Forget.
Lena admitted she opted against having media at her second wedding, saying: 'We'll just sign the papers and think about having a big bash later.
'Both Dima and I know what we want to do, we will do everything for ourselves.'
Dmitry previously battled thyroid cancer and went into remission after treatment. The cancer later returned but he is said to be in remission once again.
The couple welcomed their first child as a couple and Lena's second, a son, in 2023.
Lena was visibly pregnant with her second child when they took to the stage at Gazprom Arena, home of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin's favourite football club Zenit St. Petersburg
Meanwhile Yulia has attracted her fair share of controversy away from the band, starting in 2004 when she announced her first pregnancy with then-boyfriend Pavel Sidorov - who was already married with a daughter.
She gave birth to daughter Viktoria that September before parting ways with Sidorov, with whom she no longer maintains contact.
Three years later she welcomed her second child, son Samir, with Uzbek businessman Parviz Yasinov.
In 2013 she surprised fans by revealing she was Muslim, telling HELLO!: 'I don't wear typical clothes, but I converted to Islam because it's the closest to my heart.'
However, she later reverted back to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
The singer also faced backlash after appearing on Russian TV show Lie Detector in 2014 after stating she would condemn her son if he came out as gay.
'Yes, I would condemn him, because I believe that a real man must be a real man,' she was translated as saying.
'God created man for procreation, it is the nature. The man for me is the support, the strength of… I won't accept a gay son.'
Despite her strong views, she stated that she didn't have a problem with lesbians.
'Two girls together—not the same thing as two men together. It seems to me that lesbians look aesthetically much nicer.'
In April 2021, she launched a political career as a candidate for Russia's conservative party, United Russia, but was crushed in the legislative election.
Lena Katina appears to have aged naturally with little to no cosmetic surgery and has largely focused on her solo music career since leaving t.A.T.u.