Alexandra Shipp to star in made-in-Toronto Aaliyah biopic

NEW YORK – 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.

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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 in Toronto, 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.