Julia Volkova

Julia Volkova

Yulia Olegovna Volkova (Russian: Юля Олеговна Волкова), born 20 February 1985) is one of the members of the Russian duo t.A.T.u., usually known as Julia Volkova and sometimes known as Yulya Volkova (a direct transliteration of her name). They are notorious for shocking the public and trying to break taboos by performing on stage in only their underwear. Volkova is known for being the "bad girl" of the group.

Yulia's singing career started off in the Russian children's chorus 'Neposedy' where she met Lena Katina, who would eventually become Yulia's bandmate again in the group t.A.T.u. Yulia has insisted that she was banned from Neposedi for drinking and swearing, but Neposedy representatives deny this, saying that she simply graduated as all of their members did at a certain age. Yulia was chosen as the second member of t.A.T.u. in 1999, after Elena had already been chosen and recorded several demos herself. To be in the band, she had to cut her naturally blond hair short and dye it black. Both girls were under a very tight contract, that dictated what they did, what they said, and even how they felt. Volkova was told to ignore questions from reporters, frown, and look clearly upset to further the differences between her and Katina.

Yulia began to record English songs with t.A.T.u. despite having very little knowledge of the language. An ESL professor was hired to teach her to sing in English. In earlier interviews she often gave little more than one word answers in English, and Elena had to often translate what she said for the reporters. In more recent interviews she has shown that her English skills have greatly improved, and she usually answers questions for herself, rarely relying on Elena's translations.

In February 2003, Volkova was reported to having an abortion as she was seen at an abortion clinic in Moscow. This was confirmed by Yulia in the documentary series "Anatomiya Tatu" in December later that year. In early 2004, Volkova's voice began to deteriorate during the recording of t.A.T.u.'s second album, which was documented on the reality show Podnebesnaya. Due to the stress put on her voice by notes then-producer Ivan Shapovalov insisted she sing, she developed a vocal fold cyst. Despite reluctance on behalf of the management of t.A.T.u. and Ivan Shapovalov himself, as her contract stated that any financial loss due to her hospital stay and recovery would be her liability, she underwent surgery to remove the cyst in October 2004. Not only leaving a large scar on her neck, it delayed the band's progress severely. She is currently undergoing therapy to repair her voice.

In May 2004, Volkova announced that she was pregnant and that her long-time boyfriend Pavel (Pasha) Sidorov fathered her child. She gave birth to daughter Viktoria Pavlovna Volkova on September 23, 2004. Volkova split up with Sidorov in spring 2005. However, she didn't stay single for long. While in Los Angeles, during 2005, recording the second album, Yulia started to date Tigran, a businessman and fellow Russian.

Also in April 2006, Yulia was reported to be dating former Smash!! and Neposedi member, Vlad Topalov. It was said that that she loved him very much, and wanted to have a child with him. Rumors surfaced later in 2006 that the two were married. On July 14 2006, MTV Russia aired a TV segment announcing that Yulia was pregnant with Topalov's child. It has now been announced on 21 July 2006 that this is not the case, by Eugenia Voevodina, the press-attache of the group.

See also

• Lena Katina

External links

• Official Website of t.A.T.u.
• Yulia-Volkova.com
• Yulia Volkova
• allmylove.org
• Юля Волкова‎ discography at MusicBrainz
• Tatugirls.de