Depending on how old you are you either feel like you grew up with Lauren Haredegi or you feel like you've watched her grow up as part of the girl group fifth harmony.

As other members of the group have moved on into their own solo careers,

Lauren has taken her time finding her sound and her voice.

And her new debut EP, Prelude, is a monument to the work she has done to find herself.

Music monument to the work she has done to find herself. Lauren, congratulations on the EP.

It's absolutely beautiful and so rich and wonderful.

And I want to talk a little bit about your backstory so we can talk about how we got to this moment where you really get to be you.

You say that growing up in your house was loud, which is incredibly relatable, Cuban to Cuban.

Who was the first person, though, that made you believe you had talent?

My mom and dad, my parents, my whole family.

My family has always been so supportive of me.

And my dad is a musician as well.

He plays drums and piano by ear.

And he also sings.

And he whistles, like, really amazingly. Yeah, I think

they were the first people to tell me that, like, I could sing. You realize it's almost 10 years ago.

You auditioned for X Factor? I know, girl. Ten years. I was watching that audition tape.

Nine years. I'm not. It can't be like a decade in this thing yet.

But it has almost been a decade and not only has I been a decade, you're like a baby in that

audition.

I was a baby. I was a literal child. It was crazy.

Have you watched that audition recently?

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