Interview for Hello Magazine (August 5, 2021)
Quote:
Lena Katina: about son, friendship and competition in show business
The whole world knows Lena Katina as an ex-member of the tATu group, but now she is a solo performer who still has something to say.
Lena, how do you spend this summer? Did you manage to rest somewhere?
Lena: This summer I spend at work: I have a lot of tours and filming. And under repair, for the second time this year. The child is resting at the dacha with his grandparents, dad finally came to visit us, it turned out that he was "brought" to Russia. I also go to the dacha whenever possible to rest, exhale, lie down and swim in the pool.
What are your favorite vacation spots that you are looking forward to seeing?
In fact, I love meeting my friends, this is also a kind of vacation for me - "kitchen therapy" we call it among ourselves. In general, of course, I love the sea. I hope that we will still reach it in the fall or next year. It is important for me that the sea is warm and clean, that there are no algae, otherwise I cannot swim. I love a relaxing stay. And there are no specific places, the main thing is the sea and good company. And we always have a rest in a big company, my friends and I take our children, we all spend time together.
Tell us about your first trip abroad that impressed you.
At first, every trip impressed me. I started traveling abroad when I was in school. The first trip was to London, England. They were amazing impressions! It was also the first trip without my mother, as we went with the class. I also remember very well the trip to Tallinn, it was with Fidgets, I love this city madly. It is such a "toy", as I like to say, especially the old town, everything there is very small in a European way. And, of course, I love Italy. The first time I got there, too, was with Fidgets. Amazing architecture, atmosphere. Japan made a huge impression on me. We flew there many times with tATu, because we were very popular there. And this is a completely different world. I believe that every person is simply obliged to get there at least once in his life. Amazing culture, energy, atmosphere - another world.I just adore Japan, I would like to go there again.
What is your touring schedule now, has the pandemic hit you hard?
The pandemic hit everyone last year, but I saw this time as an opportunity to return to creativity, this kind of vacation. During quarantine, I did not stop working on the creation and recording of material. Yes, there was no tour, but now, for example, the tour schedule is quite tight, which, of course, pleases.
Your son is growing up, what is he interested in, does he make music? What does he dream of becoming in the future?
Sasha is 6 years old, he is not involved in music, I focus on sports - taekwondo, artistic gymnastics. In the summer, a teacher goes to him, she is engaged with preparatory classes for school. Despite the fact that he still has a year in kindergarten, I believe that the brain should work. He goes to the pool, swims. What does he dream of becoming? Well, like all six-year-olds - now a taxi driver, then a pilot, then a builder, then something else. I think it is unlikely that it will be determined even in the next 5 years. (Laughs.) He has a rather technical mindset, as I see it. We will see
You have a close relationship with your mom, and you became independent early enough. Do you think it rather helped, or should childhood be extended for the maximum possible period?
I think this is everyone's choice. I am absolutely happy that I had such a rich childhood, because, of course, this did not allow me to get into some very unpleasant and dysfunctional companies. I was doing something all the time: I had both a music school and "Fidgets", and then the tour began quite early. I am happy that everything was so bright, interesting and rich. I can only be grateful for such a childhood. And with my mother I have fairly close friendly relations, but nevertheless my mother still remains a mother.
Do you take your son with you on tour?
No, why? Carrying a child on airplanes, on night flights and concerts is not necessary for anyone, it is unhealthy, especially since he also has a fairly eventful life: both a kindergarten and additional activities.
Victoria Beckham once said that she agreed to participate in the return of the Spice Girls only once at the Olympics so that her children could see with their own eyes that their mom was a superstar. Do you admit such a situation with the tATu group?
We already reunited for the 2014 Olympics. So we have already passed this stage.
How do you generally feel about different returns? Now Spice Girls, Friends, and Sex and the City use this move. What do you think, are these comebacks successful or are you leaving - leave?
To reunite, you need to understand what it is for. For money? To please your ego and self-esteem? Or to keep creating? There are various reasons. Our group has already fulfilled its mission, the logical completion of the project has come long ago.
How difficult is it to get away from the image of a member of the group after all these years? Do you get tired of the fans' requests to perform old songs or do you yourself gladly nostalgic with them?
Yes, I do not leave the image of a participant, I live my life, I grow up. Then I was 14, now I'm 36, and my image changes in accordance with my growing up, internal changes, so it seems to me that everything is logical in principle. There was never a goal to get away from the image of a member of the group, I am Lena Katina, and there I was and now I remain. I just became more mature and, I hope, wiser and more experienced. In this progression, my external image also changes. Asking fans to perform old songs does not tire me, these are gorgeous pieces, wonderful songs, so I enjoy the fact that I perform them. I am glad that I can please other people in this way. I think that these works are brilliant, they have gone down in history, so they will probably need to be performed always.
How has your work changed over the years, how would you describe it? What achievement in music (solo) are you proud of?
In principle, I am proud that I found the strength to start a solo career. I have a wonderful team that supports me in my work. It is, of course, different. Firstly, the solo gave me the opportunity to feel not only an artist, but also an author. I co-wrote my first album This is Who I Am. It was a great experience, something new, unfamiliar, maybe even scary, but I really enjoyed it. I think it was a step forward in my development as a person and as an artist.
I make completely diverse tracks, I try myself: dance compositions, "rock" ones, I have dramatic fatal ballads - like, for example, one of the recent singles "From the Dark".
Which artist's concert or performance would you like to go to on a day off?
Recently I was at the Vakhtangov Theater at the play "Dad", experienced very strong emotions, a strong dramatic performance. I love theater very much, I like to go to performances. As for the concerts, in my life I have been to several that left vivid memories: I managed to attend the Prince's performance in Los Angeles, at the Roxette concert ... I was lucky to see them live. I probably would also like to go to U2, and I would love to go to Depeche Mode.
Does friendship exist in show business? With whom of your colleagues do you keep in touch?
I think there is, we are human beings. But the only one I can call my friend from show business is Nastya Zadorozhnaya. We keep in touch, although this does not happen so often, but I love her very much and can call her my friend. I also have a wonderful friend Katya Zharkova - she is a plus size model. Amazing, absolutely amazing girl. Well, that's all. With the rest, we, shall we say, are friends.
What positive and negative changes have you noticed in show business in Russia in recent years? Can any of our musicians, in your opinion, compete with world stars?
I think that many people can compete, just so far only tATu has managed to enter the external market. We have a lot of insanely talented performers, very interesting, who, I think, are quite worthy to be world stars. For example, I really like Miyagi. And about the changes, perhaps the most important thing is that everything has gone into numbers. But the quality of music has also improved, specialists began to make better arrangements, quality music, there are, of course, other examples, they are different, but they have always been different, this is creativity, so everyone does what he sees fit.
|
https://ru.hellomagazine.com/zvezdy/...u-biznese.html |
