Julia Volkova

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Julia Volkova
Julia Volkova.jpg
Volkova in 2003
Background information
Birth name Yulia Olegovna Volkova
Born (1985-02-20) 20 February 1985 (age 28)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Origin Moscow, Soviet Union
Genres Pop, Rock, Electropop[1]
Occupations Singer
Instruments Piano, Guitar
Years active 1994–present
Labels T.A. Music, Gala Records
Associated acts t.A.T.u.
Neposedi
Lena Katina
Website Official Site (English)
Official Site (Russian)

Yulia Olegovna Volkova (Russian: Юлия Олеговна Волкова born 20 February 1985), better known by the alternative spelling of Julia, is a Russian singer, recording artist and actress, best known for being a member in the Russian girl group t.A.T.u., along with Lena Katina. A girl group who were managed in Moscow, Russia by Ivan Shapovalov in March 1999, the group signed a record deal to Universal Music Russia, where they had eventually signed to Universal's sub-label Interscope Records in 2001.

The groups 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 received controversy due to Julia and Lena kissing onscreen. The group had spawned three English studio albums, including their best-to-date studio album 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, three Russian albums and four compilation albums. The group were also going through alternative projects, including a 2011 film You and I and had opened a Russian-based record label entitled T.A. Music. Suddenly, in March 2011, t.A.T.u.'s management released a press release officially stating that t.A.T.u. had split, due to conflict and problems surrounding the members.

Julia signed a solo career with Gala Records in June 2011, and released her debut single "All Because of You" in October 2011.[2] The song was also released in a Russian-language version under the title "Сдвину мир" (I'll Change the World).[2] On July 2012, it was announced by her management that Julia would release her debut worldwide single entitled "Didn't Wanna Do It", which was released on August 21, 2012. She also currently recording her first studio album.

Contents

Life and career[edit]

1985–1994: Early years and career beginning[edit]

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.[3] At the age of 6, Volkova enrolled in music school and began learning how to play the piano. When she was 9, Volkova became a member of Russia's children's chorus Neposedi, from which she would later meet fellow t.A.T.u. singer, Lena Katina.[4] At age 11, Volkova transferred to a school fostering artistic talent, and three years later left Neposedi to join t.A.T.u. She has insisted that she was banned from Neposedi for misbehaving,[5] but Neposedi representatives deny this, saying that she simply graduated as all of their members did at a certain age.

1999–2011: Formation of t.A.T.u.[edit]

t.A.T.u. performing in Moscow, Russia.

Creator and then-manager of t.A.T.u., Ivan Shapovalov stated that the idea of t.A.T.u. stemmed from the common fascination and fantasy of school-girl lesbian lovers among men, knowing that the duo would be highly appealing to a diverse fan-base.

Feeling satisfied with his choices, Shapovalov signed Yulia and Lena to t.A.T.u., but their contract with Shapovalov demanded that the girls present a lesbian image. After breaking away from Shapovalov in 2004, the girls came clean and stated that Shapovalov had created the lesbian image, and that they were even told what to say in interviews and parted ways with Shapovalov.[citation needed]

t.A.T.u. soon became the most successful Russian group of all time, leaving a number of hits behind them, such as "All the Things She Said", "Not Gonna Get Us" and "All About Us". They also took part in Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and finished third with Ne Ver', Ne Boysia. They had recorded three English language studio albums; 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, Dangerous and Moving and Waste Management. They had recorded three Russian language studio albums; 200 Po Vstrechnoy, Lyudi Invalidy and Vesyoyle Ulybki. It was announced in March 2011 that t.A.T.u. was officially disbanded. The group celebrated their 12 years together, and released two remix albums entitled Waste Management Remixes pt. 1 and Waste Management Remixes pt. 2. It was announced they were the last albums together, as the solo singers would pursue a solo career.

Many Russian websites started claiming Yulia had left t.A.T.u. to go solo in March 2009. The group's blog rejected the claims that Yulia 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.[6]

2008–present: forthcoming solo album[edit]

It was announced that after the production of t.A.T.u.'s album Waste Management, t.A.T.u. would no longer be a full-time project and it was later announced that Julia and Lena would both be working on their solo careers. Julia is currently working on her solo album in Moscow and Los Angeles.[7] Julia has said that she has introduced a new genre entitled "Sex Rock". As Julia explained “I’m not going to go from t.A.T.u. style to R&B, I like rock. It’s going to be sexy, electric, but I don’t want to give away all the secrets just yet."[8]

Julia was asked about touring and she explained “I am looking forward to performing and touring the whole world. The live shows will be different from t.A.T.u. altogether. It will be me alone and a beautiful show with big screens, each of them will have a little movie. I want the fans to take part in these movies. I want to help them feel a part of something and to be part of my show, to see that they’re traveling around the world with me.”[8] She was interviewed by Cherrytree Chat. She was asked about her music and she said that "[she is] not doing any songwriting, [she is] only recording English songs [although Russian songs are planned], the album is planned to be released worldwide and wants to be into drums throughout her career"[1]

On 16 August 2011, Volkova announced on her website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, she has officially signed with Russian Label Gala Records, subsidiary of EMI records. She has also stated that her new single to prepare for her debut album, "All Because Of You/Sdvinu Mir" will be released in late August with accompanying video. 2 weeks after the announcement, her official site reported that Julia will be returning to the studio to complete an additional recording session for "All Because Of You/Sdvinu Mir" and that the single will be officially released in October. For a third time, the single release was postponed until November. Though fans hoped for "All Because of You" to premiere on the radio prior to Julia's South American tour, it was planned to premiere during Julia's first performance in Rio de Janeiro on 17 November 2011. The Russian version, "Sdvinu Mir" premiered on Lenta.ru on 11 November 2011. This is Volkova's 1st debut single for her upcoming untitled debut album.[2] The song was recorded in Sweden and was produced by Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson and Tobias Lundgren.[9] A music video is also currently directed. Evan Winter is also the director of the video.[10][11] The music video was released on 2 December 2011, which premiered on Ello. com and her website.[12]

Volkova also announced she will travel to South America for a promotional tour, where she will perform some songs from t.A.T.u. and some of her new material.[13] "All Because Of You" peaked at number 247 in her native Russia.[14] It was announced by Volkova that the album will be released in Fall 2012.

On 1 March 2012, it was reported by the press that Volkova would be one of the 25 artists in the Russian final selection who will be competing in order to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russian broadcaster RTR later confirmed her participation among the other 25. She entered the competition together with Eurovision 2008 winner Dima Bilan as a duo with the song "Back To Her Future". They finished in 2nd place with 29.25 points behind the winning entry, "Party for Everybody" by Russian ethno-pop band Buranovskiye Babushki with 38.51 points .[15]

Since March 2012, Volkova and her management have been quiet. On July 11, 2012, Volkova's facebook administrator had announced on their t.A.T.u. facebook page saying that Volkova is unable to release any updates or news without her and her representatives confirmation.[16] However, that same day, the administrator announced on their t.A.T.u. facebook page that Volkova is finishing her second single from the album entitled "Didn't Wanna Do It", which is due to in July 2012. It was confirmed it will be released as her first worldwide single.[17][18] Volkova released two music videos, for "Didn't I Wanna Do It" and "Back To Her Future" (russian version "Lyubov-Suka" with Dima Bila). Both videos topped the ELLO music video charts. "Lyubov-Suka" also reached number 47 in the Russian airplay chart. She recorded a song with Sergio Galoyan titled "Night Of Your Life"". Galoyan released on Youtube the original demo of the track, and asked people to remix it.

Acting career[edit]

Volkova made her film début alongside Lena Katina and Mischa Barton in the film You and I, the story of two teenage girls who meet and fall in love at a Moscow t.A.T.u. concert. The film is based on the novel t.A.T.u. Come Back, which was in turn based on true events.[19]

During August 2011, Julia participated in the shooting of the movie “9 1/2 Zombies" (Previously titled "Fear Mongers"). According to the post on her official site "'9 1/2 Zombies' is a Russian language zombie horror/comedy movie shot on location in Minsk, Belarus. Produced by New Wave Production in the style of such films as 'Welcome to Zombieland' or 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Fear Mongers' is preparing for an autumn 2012 premiere". Julia will be playing the heroine, Natalia. She is also to record a soundtrack for the movie.

Personal life[edit]

In May 2004, Volkova announced that she was pregnant by her then long-time boyfriend Pavel Sidorov, which caused some controversy due to Sidorov already having a wife and daughter.[20] Daughter Viktoria Pavlovna "Vika" Volkova was born on 23 September 2004, in Moscow.[3] She does not keep in contact with Sidorov.[21]

Volkova then had a long term relationship with businessman Parviz Yasinov. The press reported that the two got married and she converted to Islam for him, but she denied this.[22] It was reported and confirmed that Volkova was pregnant with her second child, her first with Yasinov, around June 2007.[23] However, in March 2013, Volkova confirmed in Hello Magazine that she indeed converted to Islam in 2010, saying that she converted because it was 'the most closest to my heart.'[24] Volkova gave birth to a baby boy named Samir on 27 December 2007, in Moscow.[25] The couple stated that they wanted to get married in the future.[26] In 2010, Volkova confirmed that she and Yasinov had broken up, but denied claims that she had been separated from her son.[27] On 5 June 2008, t.A.T.u. canceled a concert scheduled for 19 June due to Volkova falling ill.[28] The official site didn't give exact details of her illness. It has been speculated by the media that she was diagnosed with postpartum depression[29] but it was never confirmed. On 19 June, a blog entry was posted by Lena saying that "Yulia's better"[30] and shortly after Volkova appeared to be resuming normal activities. In March 2011, Yulia confirmed through an interview with Romanian website Star-Gossip.com that she and her boyfriend have accepted Islam.[31] In an interview in January 2012, according to MKRU, Julia does not contact former band mate Katina any more. She said "Just so happens that we now almost do not talk."[32]

In many interviews, Volkova has officially stated that she is bisexual.[33][34]

Singles[edit]

  • 2011: Rage
  • 2011: Woman All The Way Down
  • 2011: Сдвину мир (Sdvinu Mir)
  • 2011: All Because of You
  • 2012: Didn’t Wanna Do It / Davai Zakrutim Zemlyu
  • 2012: Lyubov Suka/ Back to her Future (feat Dilma Bilan)

Music videos[edit]

  • 2011 — "All Because of You"
  • 2011 — "Сдвину мир"
  • 2012 — "Didn't Wanna Do It"/ Давай закрутим Землю
  • 2012 — "Любовь-Сука" (feat. Dima Bilan)

Filmography[edit]

  • 1996,1998 — «Ералаш»
  • 2011 — You and I - herself
  • 2013 — Zombie Fever - Natasha

Band members[edit]

  • Julia Volkova — Vocals
  • Alexey Boytzov — Keyboard
  • Matthew Venslauskas — Guitar
  • Igor Rybin — Guitar
  • Feuder Lokshin — Drums
  • Bruno Ganz — Bass

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "• View topic - Julia Volkova's Solo Album [Confirmed News]". Juliavolkova.com. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  2. ^ a b c "• View topic - PREMIERED: Сдвину мир // All Because of You". Juliavolkova.com. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  3. ^ a b "Юлия Волкова (Julia Volkova) - биография и фото Юлия Волкова (Julia Volkova), статьи на". Wday.ru. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  4. ^ "t.A.T.u. Eng History" (in (Russian)). Tatu.ru. 1985-02-20. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  5. ^ "T.A.T.U. (TATU) Biography". Sweetslyrics. 2001-05-16. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  6. ^ "t.A.T.u. Wish You A Happy New Year 2010". YouTube. 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  7. ^ "Message from Julia Volkova". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  8. ^ a b "About". Julia Volkova. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  9. ^ "• View topic - PREMIERED: Сдвину мир // All Because of You". Juliavolkova.com. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  10. ^ "All Because of You". Julia Volkova. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  11. ^ "News Update". Julia Volkova. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  12. ^ "Julia Volkova - All Because of You". YouTube. 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  13. ^ "Julia to Tour South America". Julia Volkova. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  14. ^ "Основные параметры ротации трека на радиостанциях, работающих в системе". Tophit.ru. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  15. ^ "Объявлен список претендентов на «Евровидение-2012» — LIFE | NEWS Шоубиз". Lifenews.ru. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  16. ^ "Hello. This is the...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  17. ^ "Great news! We...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  18. ^ "Twitter / JuliaVolkova: We've just announced the title". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  19. ^ (Russian) t.A.T.u. Eng Feedback. Tatu.ru. Retrieved on 2011-05-07.
  20. ^ Julia Volkova – Tatu Singer Is Pregnant – Contactmusic News. Contactmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  21. ^ Юля Волкова: Я беременна! (Yulia Volkova: I am pregnant), Твой ДЕНЬ, 5 June 2007
  22. ^ (Russian) t.A.T.u. Eng News. Tatu.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  23. ^ Юля Волкова: беременная и без мужа – Тусовка России. Yoki.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  24. ^ Translation to Julia's interview in russian "Hello"-thanks to me(Nika). AllMyLove.Org. Retrieved on 2013-03-14.
  25. ^ (Russian) t.A.T.u. Eng News. Tatu.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  26. ^ t.A.T.u. Юля Волкова . Горячие Новости: Волкова-Ясинов: скоро свадьба!. Loveradio.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  27. ^ Юлия Волкова. Ok-magazine.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  28. ^ (Russian) t.A.T.u. Eng News. Tatu.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  29. ^ Юля Волкова погрязла в депрессии/Yulia Volkova bogged down in depression
  30. ^ (Russian) t.A.T.u. Дневники. Tatu.ru. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  31. ^ Юлия Волкова. star-gossip.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-12.
  32. ^ (In Russian)
  33. ^ "Didn’t Wanna Do It – on sale August 21". Julia Volkova. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
  34. ^ "ENGLISH.GAY.RU - Yulia Volkova: "I still like boys and girls ..."". :. Retrieved 2012-11-15. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Julia Volkova
Preceded by
Prime Minister
with "Northern Girl"		 Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
2003
(as part of t.A.T.u.)		 Succeeded by
Yulia Savicheva
with "Believe Me"
t.A.T.u.
Russian albums
English albums
Compilations
Tours
Film, TV & DVD
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julia_Volkova&oldid=560108066"