Tatu Duo To Split

 The situation for the notorious Russian pop duo is getting tense

Until recently, the Russian pop duo Tatu was doing fine. The two girls have just returned from their promo tour in Japan - album sales in Japan have reached the level of two million copies. Tatu went to Japan with a commercial visit, getting ready for a future tour. The visit was rather entertaining: Lena Katina arrived with her mother Inna and sister Katya. Julia Volkova came with her boyfriend Pavel.

Pavel is a Muscovite, he is 23 years old he is a professional karate athlete. Pavel is not a sociable young man - during the visit he was talking to Julia only. When the girls were walking around the city, Pavel was walking alone nearby to avoid cameras. Lena and Julia keep to a diet, they loved going to sushi bars in Japan. Julia's boyfriend does not drink alcohol - he leads a healthy lifestyle and drinks only juice. Lena and Katya refused to drink alcohol beverages too (in Japan, young people are allowed to drink alcohol after 25). Reporters say, Julia and Pavel promised to each other not to show their feelings in public, although they stayed in one hotel room.

A crowd of people met Tatu at Tokyo airport. They checked in the most prestigious hotel, and their hotel rooms looked like flower shops the next day - the Japanese fans gave a lot of flowers to them.

When the two girls were walking around Tokyo, people recognized them at once. A lot of Japanese had cell phones with cameras, so they started taking pictures of the girls, asking for autographs. In several minutes, the girls were surrounded with a crowd of fans and reporters. When one of Tatu managers tried to push the most importunate journalist aside, the reporter bit his finger.

In Tokyo, Tatu refused to perform live on the Japanese television, which was a breach of the contract. The management of the Russian notorious duo said, Japanese TV hosts were paying too much attention to local groups. The Japanese company that invited Tatu did not reward the girls with a platinum disk and nearly got them out of the hotel. However, the scandal was settled in the end.

In Tokyo, Tatu were going to make their new video to the song Show Me Love. The video was to be shot near Tokyo's Akihibara, because there is a pedestrian area there. Local authorities said, the video could be filmed only with a special permission. However, it would have taken a week to obtain the permission, so the crew decided to take a risk. The video was filmed secretly.

The relations between Julia Volkova and Lena Katina are far from being perfect in real life. The two girls consider each other rivals, and their relations are limited to business only. Julia Volkova is the leader in the duo - she is a resolute and aggressive girl. When the Tatu project was born, it was believed that brunette Julia would play the role of a strong girl. Lena Katina is playing herself: a timid and meek girl in subordination. Originally, everybody was happy with the situation in the group, but the girls are growing and they are exercising their temper to each other. Lena Katina stated that she did not want to be the "girl number two" in the duo. It has been rumored that she is going to leave the group. Julia said that she wanted either to deal with financial issues of the group by herself or to start her own solo project. Volkova's mother is allegedly not happy with her daughter's fees either. The situation in the group is getting tense. The two girls started liking one and the same boys - the lesbian love was just a promotional trick. Julia has a boyfriend now, which is another reason for jealousy.

The girls are taking a short break now, but they have refused to spend it together. Julia did not tell anyone, where she was going to. Yet, people say that the perfect situation is not going to last long. Tatu producer Ivan Shapovalov said: "When it is hard, when things do not work, people often have a feeling to quit all that and go. This can happen to Julia too. Even if people do something together, they might always want to do something on their own."

In August, Tatu are taking part in three festivals in Turkey, Hungary and Denmark. The new album of the duo is to be finished by autumn, if they stay together, of course.