Russian singer Yulia Volkova appeared markedly different during a recent t.A.T.u. performance in Mexico, prompting fans to comment on her changed appearance as she reunited with bandmate Lena Katina to perform their hit All The Things She Said.
Volkova, 41, rose to international fame as a teenager after the duo’s controversial music video presented them as a schoolgirl couple kissing in the rain. The pair later acknowledged that the lesbian relationship was a marketing device created for shock value.
During the Mexican performance, fans drew attention to Volkova’s fuller-looking lips, more prominent cheekbones, slimmer nose and pointed chin. She also appeared with several tattoos and a noticeably different look from her early years in the spotlight.
Comments posted by viewers included “Mucho botox” and the claim that the pair’s live singing was “as fake as their faces”.
Volkova and Katina, 42, have continued performing together despite a series of public disagreements over the years. The pair have since reconciled and are touring again.
Yulia Volkova’s controversial career
Formed in Moscow in 1999 by producer Ivan Shapovalov, t.A.T.u. broke through globally with the English-language release of All The Things She Said in 2002. The single topped the charts in the UK and Australia, while its provocative video was banned or censored in some countries.
The duo amplified their image with a series of publicity stunts, including appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2003 wearing T-shirts bearing an anti-war slogan in Russian. They also attempted to run for the Russian presidency in 2004.
Volkova became a mother at 19 when she had a daughter, Viktoria, in 2004. She later had a son, Samir, in 2007 with her former husband, Parviz Yasinov.
She briefly converted to Islam in 2010 before returning to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 2017. In 2021, she launched a political career as a candidate for Russia’s conservative United Russia party, but was unsuccessful in the legislative election.
The singer also faced criticism after making homophobic comments during a television appearance in 2014. Asked whether she would condemn her son if he were gay, she said she would, adding that she believed “a real man must be a real man”. She said she did not have the same objection to lesbians.
Katina has pursued a solo music career and released three studio albums. Her 2011 single Never Forget topped the US Billboard club chart.
She has also expressed support for the LGBT community, saying in 2014: “I think everybody should be free to love who they love and be with whom they want to spend their life with.”
