Disney actress Zendaya has snagged the plum role of Aaliyah in a new made-for-TV movie about the late R&B star. The 17-year-old “Replay” singer will record four of Aaliyah’s songs for the film.

R&B superstar Aaliyah had a short but turbulent career from her debut on Star Search to her tragic death in a plane crash at the age of 22. Now the Lifetime network is producing a TV movie based on the book Aaliyah: More Than a Woman.

Zendaya is set to play the title role, while Bradley Walsh, best known for Turn the Beat Around, will direct. The film, entitled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B, will shoot this summer and premiere in the fall.

The story of Aaliyah began with great promise, as the Brooklyn-born singer knew early that she wanted to be a star. She made her debut on Star Search at the age of ten and at 12 was signed to Jive Records. She was then introduced to R. Kelly, who became her mentor and produced her first album.

There were rumors that the producer and his teenage protégé were romantically involved. Vibe magazine discovered a marriage license dated August 31, 1994, when Aaliyah would have been only 15. Her parents had the marriage annulled the next year.

Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, came out in 1994 and sold over three million copies in the U.S. Her follow-up, One in a Million, sold over eight million copies, and in 2001, she made her acting debut in Romeo Must Die.

In August 2001, the 22-year-old singer and several employees of her label boarded a small private plane for a trip from the Bahamas to Florida. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all aboard. After her death, Aaliyah won two posthumous awards at the 2002 American Music Awards.

Aaliyah’s hugely successful life and tragic death should make this Lifetime movie well worth watching.