Lena Katina was born in Moscow to a musician father who had great influence on her musical tastes, exposing her to bands such as Pink Floyd, Queen, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. At the age of four Lena decided to take up piano and two years later she was accepted to music school in Moscow. Lena now credits this training in laying a foundation for her ability to craft music. During this time Lena participated in the children’s bands Avenue and later Neposedi which were well known across the country. It was in Neposedi that Lena first met fellow singer Julia Volkova. At age 13, Lena attended a casting session and was chosen by Ivan Shapovalov, out of the hundreds of girls who auditioned, to participate in his project against the war in Yugoslavia. Boris Renski was invited as a sponsor for this project but after hearing the first songs Lena had recorded he instead made Ivan the offer to fund a full musical project with her. It was soon after that Lena and Julia reconnected and together they became t.A.T.u.
In 2003 t.A.T.u. took the world by storm with their infectious hit singles All The Things She Said and Not Gonna Get Us. Their debut English album 200km/h in the Wrong Lane went on to sell in excess of 5 million copies and garnered critical acclaim. t.A.T.u. traveled the world, infamously performing at the MTV Movie Awards with hundreds of girls in school uniforms, selling out local nightclub hotspots all over Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and Latin America as well as performing full stadium shows at venues such as the Tokyo Dome and Wembley Arena. In their time together t.A.T.u. sold over 8 million units worldwide and are undoubtedly Russia’s biggest musical export. To this day t.A.T.u. remain one of the highest selling international acts in Japan. In 2009, Lena and Julia chose to disband t.A.T.u. in order to pursue solo careers.
Heading to Los Angeles, Lena reconnected with the t.A.T.u. band and together they started work on her debut solo album. Lena’s first single Never Forget received critical acclaim and with a little help from Grammy nominated DJ Dave Audé the single successfully pushed Madonna from the top spot on the Billboard Dance/Club Chart. The video for the single premiered in 2011 on one of the worlds top celebrity resources, PerezHilton.com. In May 2011 Lena collaborated with German dance producer Clark Owen on the song Melody. Showcasing the first of her new material in a successful performance at the legendary Troubadour club in Los Angeles, Lena went on to headline Pridefest (Milwaukee) and perform at the sold out 1015 Folsom in San Francisco.
At the end of 2012, Lena and Julia reunited for the first time in three years to promote the 10th Anniversary Edition of their debut album 200km/h In The Wrong Lane. t.A.T.u. performed together on The Voice in Romania at the request of Universal Music and the appearance was followed up with a string of promotional events and concerts thanks to overwhelming demand.
Lena’s second single Lift Me Up, a tribute to her fans, was released in 2013 and reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Dance/Club Charts in the United States, peaking at number 31.
Reunited with her t.A.T.u. co-star once again, Lena performed the formidable Not Gonna Get Us at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. After a successful performance, Lena and Julia teamed up to lend their vocals to the song Love in Every Moment, the soundtrack to the film ‘Together Apart’ in which both girls had a guest role. The film was premiered at The Russian Pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival 2014.
Over the course of the last few years Lena has demonstrated her ability as an electrifying front woman and has also proven that she’s a powerhouse when it comes to catchy and intelligent pop/rock music. With her album complete and next single, Who I Am, ready to drop, Lena and her band are ready and raring to go!
