Lauren (Astrolight)

Bak Minji, better known by the stage name Lauren, is a rapper currently under Sunrise Entertainment. She debuted in Spark Entertainment as the center and main rapper of Astrolight.

She is a former trainee of Sprout Creative.

## **Career**

Minji spent much of her time at the company when she wasn't in school since it was founded in 2010, largely due to her mother traveling for work and her father working late hours to get Sprout Creative off the ground. She was known by early employees of the company for her curiosity and constant barrage of questions. In 2014, she expressed interest in being a trainee, but her father refused to let her join due to her young age and potential conflict of interest due to her connection to the company.

### **2016 - 2017: Sprout Creative, Diamond in the Rough**

After much persuasion and arguments with her father, he reluctantly let her join as a trainee in 2016. Unlike most trainees, she wasn't required to audition, which caused a lot of tension among other trainees as they believed she was favored and only got in thanks to her dad.

Her participation in the *Diamond in the Rough* survival show in 2017 caused outcry among other trainees, where she started as in 66th place, the second to last rank. She was eliminated in the fourth episode along with fellow label member McKenzie Song-Moreau.

In late 2017, she decided to part ways as a trainee to audition at a different company instead, citing conflict within the company as her reason for departure.

### **2020: Spark Entertainment**

Minji auditioned for Spark Entertainment during their global auditions in 2019 after receiving information from Chloe (then known by her birth name Haeun) and Sophia, both of who she met on *Diamond in the Rough*.

During a NXT fansigning event in 2020, she was scouted by the group's manager and pulled aside after the event ended to audition for the company, after she began auditioning to other companies and began receiving offers. While she received a few offers from larger companies (largely thanks to her father's connections), Minji ultimately chose Spark Entertainment after getting the chance to speak to Minjae and Hyunjoon. It's rumored the person who failed her at the global audition was fired from the company when they found out she had initially auditioned with them in the past.

While she didn't train with the NXT members like Chloe did, she joined the company shortly before the trainee program would be divided into two. She is the only other member outside of Chloe and Sophia from the original 2022 lineup to have made it to the official lineup that would debut in 2025. On May 14 of that year, she debuted as the center and main rapper of the group under the stage name Lauren.

## **Filmography**

### **Television Shows**

* *Diamond in the Rough* (Mnet, 2017) - contestant

## **Official SNS**

**Twitter:** @minjisbak

**Instagram:** @minjisbak

## **Trivia**

* Her father is the founder and CEO of Sprout Creative.
* She's closest with McKenzie during their trainee days at Sprout Creative.
* Like Chloe, she's most protective of Nina out of all the members of the group due to the age gap between the maknae and the rest.
* Out of all the members in the group, she's closest to Chloe and Sophia, who she met during the *Diamond in the Rough* survival show before she joined Spark Entertainment. The three of them were known as the Squad during their trainee days, and she only allows those two of the group to call her Ji.
* She prefers to wear hoodies and sweatpants.