Elena Sergeevna Katina , born October 4, 1984, better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian singer and songwriter who is best known for her work with Russian duo t.A.T.u. She started her career at the age of eight, joining the Russian children's act Avenue, then not long after Neposedi. In 1999, Ivan Shapovalov had chosen Katina for his project, t.A.T.u., as well with Yulia Volkova. The duo would later become Russia's most successful musical act. t.A.T.u. produced several smash hits including "All the Things She Said", "Not Gonna Get Us" and "All About Us".
In 2009, Katina announced she would pursue a solo career, which led t.A.T.u. to go into a hiatus. However, in 2011, Katina and Volkova announced they would split to pursue solo careers. That year, Katina released her first mainstream single "Never Forget", which in 2011 reached #1 on MTV Russia TOP 10 and also won the MTV Russia - 2011 Video Of The Year. Also, as announced on 19 April 2012, the track achieved #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, making it Katina's debut #1 single, alongside Grammy nominated DJ/Producer, Dave Audé, overtaking the likes of Madonna, DEV, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Jessie J, Chris Brown and David Guetta. On 25 April, the track claimed #1 in Greece.
A Billboard insider states, "If Lena Katina keeps this up, she and her band could become the most successful Russian act to date, maybe even more so than t.A.T.u.". Katina has recently been working with Singer/Songwriter, Clark Owen. The record label, 100songs, have confirmed that "Melody", Lena's duet with Owen, will be released 24 April.
