Not Gonna Get Us

Background and composition

Prior to becoming t.A.T.u. Yulia and Lena had auditioned as members of Neposedi, a group produced by Ivan Shapolavov and his business partner Alexander Voitinskyi. Shapolavov has said the two girls stood out from the rest of those who auditioned; however, 14-year-old Katina was initially the only one chosen for the band. While the album was in development, their producer Alexander Voitinskyi left the production, leaving the album unreleased. However, Shapolavov later signed Elena Kiper as the new co-producer and co-writer for the album, who had eventually written "Not Gonna Get Us". There is also the Russian counterpart entitled "Nas Ne Dogonyat".

The song was written by Elena Kiper, Ivan Shapovalov, Valeriy Polienko and Sergio Galoyan, while production was handled by Trevor Horn. The song was included in the groups compilation album The Best (2006). The song was added to their YouTube channel five years later on 6 February 2008.

"Not Gonna Get Us" is a eurodance-inspired song. The song incorporates influences from pop, dance-pop, eurodance and rock music. The song "opens with a throbbing electro beat which then builds to the shrill chorus." They were also noted by their vocals by saying "Lena Katina and Julia Volkova's vocals are angelic and naive complementing the fierce, persistent beats in the single." Lyrically, it talks about teenage lovers, which was usually exampled by Volkova and Katina, as people did not understand their love towards each other, so they run away from people to start fresh.

Critical reception

"Not Gonna Get Us" received favorable reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic highlighted the track on the album saying it was an "exhausting offering hit" but continued saying; "Well, it's easy not to be into it when Julia and Lena appear to have been run through a marketing processor so they could become two Sapphic tarts who sing songs with suggestive titles like "Not Gonna Get Us," "Show Me Love," and "All the Things She Said" (it's likely a coincidence that the latter two share titles with songs by Robyn and Simple Minds, respectively, but perhaps not) [...]." Popdirt commented that the "high-pitched helium voices" on the song work at "complimenting the sensitivity they feel for each other and the reckless abandonment of the outside world perfectly". A reviewer from Dusk411 commented against their image by saying ""Not Gonna Get Us" could work if t.A.T.u. weren't a gimmick" which was introduced by their single "All The Things She Said". Furthermore, Pitchfork listed this as the 33rd best single of 2003.

The song was nominated "Best Russian Act" in 2003 on MTV Europe Music Awards.

Chart performance

"Not Gonna Get Us" was released in Europe in 2003. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number seven, where it eventually peaked. It stayed in the charts for eight weeks in total. The song also sold over 43,000 copies there. The song also peaked at number ten on the Irish Singles Chart. In the European markets, it was a success. In Sweden, it debuted at number ten, peaked at number nine and stayed in the charts for nine weeks. In Finland, it debuted at number three and stayed in the charts for five weeks. In Italy, it debuted at number four and stayed in the charts for a total of seven weeks. In Austria, it debuted at number 22. After two weeks, it rose and peaked at number five for two non-consecutive weeks. It stayed in the charts for sixteen weeks in total. In Switzerland, the song debuted at number 37. The next week, it rose and peaked at 18, and stayed in the charts for 18 weeks in total. The song peaked at numbers twelve and ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia). The song reached number ten in the Europe Official Top 100.

In the Oceanic region, it received more moderate success. The song debuted at number 11 on the Australian Singles Chart, where it eventually peaked and stayed in the charts for 11 weeks. It was certified gold by ARIA, selling over 35,000 copies. The song spent only a sole week in the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 25, becoming the group's poorest performing single in the country. It was the group's last single to chart in New Zealand.

The song was eventually released in North America, charting in Canada and the United States. The single version peaked at number 31 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Dave Audé then released a remix of the single in the United States, which peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs Chart, where it became the group's first and only number one in North America (although a Dave Audé remix of t.A.T.u. member Lena Katina's solo release 'Never Forget' also topped the US Hot Dance Club Songs Chart in 2012). Not Gonna Get Us also managed to peak at 35 on the US Top 40 Mainstream Charts.

Music video

The video starts off with Julia and Lena's mugshots being placed on screen, with the truck's engine starting up and steam surrounding the two girls and the vehicle. They then are outside in a snowy environment, where they steal a large truck and ride off through an airfield, breaking through a fence while singing. The two girls later find themselves in snow-covered Siberia. They run over a construction worker in the middle of the road, who is played by Ivan Shapovalov. After breaking through another fence, some family photos of both the girls as young children are shown during the video. Towards the end, Yulia and Lena climb to the roof of the truck and stand on top, hugging and smiling as they continue to sing the song, until they crack the lens of the camera as they leave.

The song was directed by their former producer Ivan Shapovalov. The music video is also the same music video taken from the Russian version "Nas Ne Dogonyat". The English music video for this song is a re-edited version of the Russian video, altered to remove the lip synching (usually by adding a broken glass shot over the shots of them singing).

A video game was created by a fan based on the music video. In the game, the band is inside a truck trying to get away from the bad guys. The game course also features land mines that the player must dodge. It was uploaded by a user on game-sharing web site Newgrounds.

Cover Versions and Derivatives

"Not Gonna Get Us" was sampled in the song "Miss Love Tantei" by W. The song was used as the closing song in the 2008 film, The Code, which had Russian characters and clubs as central to the plot.

The song was covered by Japanese singer Maki Nomiya on her 2005 album Party People.

In 2014, Tori Amos covered the song in Moscow while on her Unrepentant Geraldines Tour.

In 2004, a cover of the song by Eurobeat artist Dave Rodgers was featured on Super Eurobeat Vol.147