If you had told me when we first started that
t.A.T.u would have steamrolled the competition so effortlessly, I would have been gobsmacked! Seriously, the girls were never at any point outside the top 15! The
Spice Girls and
All Saints were not in the top 30 but t.A.T.u were firmly in the top 10.
@ohnostalgia was one of the last to vote and the zero really derailed
t.A.T.u’s plans for a top 5 finish, so here we have them at #9!
Now, what to think of
All The Things She Said? I have to admit, it is undeniably quite an intense bop. I would even say I love it? It’s not quite a 10 since it does go into overdrive in a lot of spots but I cannot deny it is an extremely well crafted song. The girls emote this sentiment (I felt growing up, as a gay man) of confusion, frustration with oneself when faced with attraction to the same sex very well, this is where the intensity kinda works. The 'shouty' parts that have a lot of people calling for them do work in this context, I recall being a teenager and having so many different feelings I wanted to address about my orientation and not knowing which way to go. Now, just because I can relate with my own experience, doesn't mean others do or have to like the song, in fact
Ellen DeGeneres is no fan!
What is a little disappointing perhaps is that this did not genuinely come from the heart but rather was a calculated gimmick to make the girls stand out with this subject matter? A few of you might think it is a little hypocritical of me to have a debrief on all the damaging subtext of
Don’t Cha and not
All The Thing She Said but I think the message rings true in its depiction? It captures the sense of what I went through in a relatable way without a false-sounding result? Very odd to try and describe, I must say!
All The Things She Said isn’t only controversial in its message but in its video as well. The music video was banned in several countries due to its depiction of underage lesbianism (including having the girls in school girl outfits for full on fetishism too to go with the fact they were 14 at the time of shooting). Many channels cut the scenes of the girls kissing when screening it for a number of years til more recent times. The song itself is one of the most successful from a Russian act, reaching the top spot in several countries including Australia and the UK, and reaching the Billboard Top 20. It is also the first Russian video on
YouTube to get a
VEVO certification for over 100 million views. All The Things She Said was also ranked #452 in Blender’s 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born & #8 of AOL’s Top 100 Pop Songs Of The Decade.
t.A.T.u is made up of
Lena Katina and
Julia Volkova (originally of
Neposedi) and were formed in 1999 by
Ivan Shapovalov and
Alexander Voitinskiy. They went through the recording of their first album and released the Russian version of it and
All The Things She Said to huge success locally. This prompted them to record the English versions we are more familiar with on our side of the world. The girls would continue to be successful (although never to the same degree as with
All The Things She Said) until embarking on solo projects in 2011 and then reuniting in 2012.
Over to PopJustice!
DJHazey (10)
is quite a stan for them - Definitely in the running for my coveted 11 on the back 'THIS. IS. NOT. ENOUGH." alone. Wow what a scintillating moment that continues to be for me. I love their music so much. "How Soon is Now?" and "All About Us" are both in my Top 100 songs of all-time and the former IS in my Popjustice Top 20.
Unnameable (10)
has some interesting perspective for us – this had instant impact when it was released. I finally watched “Finding t.a.t.u.” on DVD this year and its madness didn’t disappoint.
Ufint (10)
is a really big fan - YATH at this being such a ginormous bop. Probably one of my most listened-to songs in the last decade. Mess at me learning most of their songs in Russian thinking that I had the right pronunciation and knew what they were singing…
Iheartpoptarts (8)
draws a fascinating and quite true comparison - The ‘…Baby One More Time’ of the post-pop princess era. I don’t really check for that era, but you know.
DominoDancing (8)
is very insightful for us - Disregarding the whole controversy about image and marketing, this song has one hell of a chorus, and Trevor Horn punched up the original version's production a good deal.
Untouchable Ace (10)
is here for the production - The production is spot on.
Trouble In Paradise (8)
finds the production a little dated on the other hand - 8th Grade Me really wants to give this a 10, if not an 11, but let’s be real, this is wicked dated.
Filippa (7)
is on the inauthentic call out trail again! - The song sounds as fresh as it sounded then. No comment to all the stories around those girls. Just another example of an artificial product.
Spillett (10)
may not know much about the backstory - (amazing. credible pop).
Saviodxl (10)
bopped regardless - Repetitive chorus worked for the fake lesbians! I remember listening to this and dramatizing in my room, specially in the part they sing "yes I lost my miiiiind".
ComeOnGloria (6.9)
rates based on the song and the song alone - Heard the song before I saw the video or learned anything aboutt he performers.
Riiiiiiiii (8.9)
controversially reaches into his ohnostalgia for a score very unlike hers - Feel guilty scoring this one so high because of their whole backstory, but the song + video is pure MTV nostalgia. They were so fascinating back then.
Kermit_The_Frog (8)
is all about the glass half full - All of the harrowing real-life drama aside, I can still appreciate this for what it is. A bloody good song.
Zar-Unity (7)
is back to favourite scores - A interesting mix of rock and electropop. Nice kissing! Tech: 4 Taste: 3 = 7 points.
GhettoPrincess (11)
takes us away with this one as our 11er! - The controversy mixed with one of my favourite pop songs ever. The music video is great and it's genuinely a song full of powerful & beautiful moments. The production is top notch and it'll always be their best in my eyes. I always love Lena's "this is not enough!" moment.