Tatu

Ivan Shapovalov and his friend/business partner Alexander Voitinskyi developed plans to create a musical project in Russia. With this idea in mind, Shapovalov and Voitinskyi organized auditions in Moscow in early 1999 for teenage female vocalists. By the end of auditioning, the partners narrowed their search down to ten girls, including ex-members of the group Neposedi, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova. Both girls stood out among the others, especially because of their appearance and vocal experience, but the producers decided to start with 14 year-old Katina, who sang "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette. Katina began recording demos, including "Yugoslavia", a song about NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. After the demos were cut, Shapovalov insisted that another girl be added to the project. Thus, in late 1999, 14 year old Volkova was added to the group.

After completing the duo, the producers decided on the name "Тату" (Tatu). It refers to a shortened version of the Russian "Та любит Ту (Ta lyubit Tu)", meaning "She loves her". For the release of their first English-language album, they decided to go by t.A.T.u., using upper case letters and periods to differentiate between an already existing Australian band also named "Tatu."

Over the next year, Katina and Volkova recorded songs with their producers. At some point, Voitinskyi left the project, and Shapovalov decided to sign Elena Kiper as co-producer and co-writer for their debut album.