Julia Volkova

Yulia Olegovna Volkova (Юлия Олеговна Волкова; born 20 February 1985), better known by the alternative spelling of Julia, is a Russian singer best known for being a member of the Russian girl group t.A.T.u., along with Lena Katina.

Volkova was born on 20 February 1985 in Moscow, Russia, to a middle-class family.

Her father, Oleg Volkov, was a businessman and her mother, Larissa Volkova, was a hairdresser.

At the age of 6, Volkova enrolled in music school and began learning how to play the piano.

When she was 9, she became a member of Russia's children's chorus Neposedy, where she would meet future fellow t.A.T.u. singer, Lena Katina.

At age 11, Volkova transferred to a school fostering artistic talent, and three years later left Neposedy to join t.A.T.u. She has insisted that she was banned from Neposedy for misbehaving, but Neposedy representatives deny this, saying that she simply graduated as all of their members did at a certain age.

Creator and former manager of t.A.T.u., Ivan Shapovalov, formulated the image of the duo in order to capitalise on the common fascination and fantasy of schoolgirl lesbians, and to appeal to a diverse fan base.

Formed in Moscow, Russia by Ivan Shapovalov in March 1999, the group signed a record deal with Universal Music Russia, and eventually Universal's sub-label Interscope Records in 2001.

The group's first single, "All the Things She Said", topped the charts in countries including Australia, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, but also generated controversy due to the girls kissing onscreen.

The group recorded three studio albums in English, including their bestselling 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, three Russian albums, and four compilation albums.

They also took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and finished third with "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia", only three points behind the winner, Turkey.

They recorded three English-language studio albums: 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, Dangerous and Moving, and Waste Management; three Russian-language studio albums were issued: 200 Po Vstrechnoy, Lyudi Invalidy, and Vesyolye Ulybki.

Shapovalov managed the act until 2004, when the two performers came out and revealed that Shapovalov had implemented the lesbian persona, and that they were even told what to say in interviews.

t.A.T.u. soon became the most successful Russian group of all time, scoring a number of hits with "All the Things She Said", "Not Gonna Get Us", and "All About Us".

She entered the competition together with Eurovision 2008 winner Dima Bilan as a duo, with the song "Back to Her Future".

They finished in second place with 29.25 points, behind the winning entry, "Party for Everybody", by Russian ethno-pop band Buranovskiye Babushki, with 38.51 points.

Many Russian websites started claiming Volkova had left t.A.T.u. to go solo in March 2009.

The official blog rejected the claims that she had quit, but stated that both girls would be doing separate solo projects from now on and t.A.T.u was no longer a full-time job.

However, in early January, the duo released a video in which they said they were still together and were planning more songs in 2010.

They also worked on other projects, including the 2011 film You and I, and opened T.A. Music, a Russia-based record label.

In March 2011, t.A.T.u.'s management issued a press release officially stating that the duo had split.

Volkova signed a solo contract with Gala Records in June 2011, and released her debut single, "All Because of You", in November 2011.

The song was also released in a Russian-language version under the title "Сдвину мир" (I'll Change the World).

It was announced in March 2011 that t.A.T.u. was officially disbanded.

The duo celebrated their twelve years together, and released two remix albums, titled Waste Management Remixes pt. 1 and Waste Management Remixes pt. 2.

After the breakup of t.A.T.u., Volkova made an announcement on her YouTube channel, launching her website and mentioning that she was working on a solo album in Moscow and Los Angeles.

On 16 August 2011, Volkova announced on her website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, that she had officially signed with Russian label Gala Records, a subsidiary of EMI records.

She also stated that her new single, "All Because of You/Сдвину мир", would be released in late August, with an accompanying video.

Two weeks after the announcement, her official site reported that the singer would be returning to the studio to complete an additional recording session for "All Because of You/Сдвину мир", and that the single would be officially released in October.

For a third time, the release was postponed until November.

Though fans hoped for "All Because of You" to premiere on the radio prior to Volkova's South American tour, it was planned to premiere during her first performance in Rio de Janeiro on 17 November 2011.

The Russian version, "Сдвину мир", premiered on Lenta.ru on 11 November 2011.

The song was recorded in Sweden and was produced by Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, and Tobias Lundgren.

A music video accompanied it, directed by Evan Winter.

The music video was released on 2 December 2011, premiering on Ello.com and Volkova's website.

Volkova also announced she would travel to South America for a promotional tour, where she would perform some songs by t.A.T.u. and some of her solo material.

"All Because of You" peaked at number 247 in her native Russia.

Her worldwide debut single, titled "Didn't Wanna Do It", was released on 21 August 2012.

On 1 March 2012, it was reported by the press that Volkova was one of the 25 artists in the final selection who would be competing in order to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Russian broadcaster RTR later confirmed her participation.