Zendaya Coleman, the 17-year-old singer/actress with Disney roots, has been chosen to portray the late Aaliyah in a forthcoming film about her life, according to Necole Bitchie. Rumors of an upcoming biopic about Aaliyah have been circling around for the past year or so with actresses like BET’s Keisha Chante expressing interest in the role.

Zendaya’s been growing in popularity after being the co-star of Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” and competing on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Zendaya may be a good move for the film, and Aaliyah’s legacy, if everything goes well. Because of her past successes Zendaya could introduce an entirely new, younger audience to a singer that tragically passed before a lot of them can even remember.

An official announcement is expected to be made later this week if Zendaya was chosen for the role.

You can watch her videos to “My Baby” and the “My Baby (Remix)” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Bobby Brackins and Iamsu! here.

Update: Zendaya has confirmed her role in the new Aaliyah biopic via her Twitter account. See the young stars’ tweets below.

She's been an inspiration and influence in my whole career, her talent still shines brighter then ever, all I wanna do is honor her

— Zendaya (@Zendaya) June 16, 2014

Show how much she accomplished in only 22 years….she's beautiful inside and there will never be another Aaliyah, I just hope to share her

— Zendaya (@Zendaya) June 16, 2014

beautiful story, and make her proud up in heaven #babygirl #forever #OneInAMillion

— Zendaya (@Zendaya) June 16, 2014