Alexandra Shipp has very little time to get ready for her new role as the late R&B singer Aaliyah.
Lifetime spokeswoman Kannie Yu LaPack confirmed Friday that Shipp will play the singer, who died in a plane crash in 2001. Shipp replaces Zendaya in the Lifetime biopic "Aaliyah: Princess of R&B." Zendaya pulled out of production last month.
The project was briefly halted, but filming will start later this month, leaving the 23-year-old Shipp little time to prep. She has played roles on Nick show "House of Anubis" and the movie "Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel."
The biopic will be released this fall and will follow the multiplatinum-selling R&B star's career from 10-year-old "Star Search" contestant to her death in a plane crash in the Bahamas at age 22.
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