The big-screen remake of the 1976 film Sparkle just got a bit, er, more sparkly. EW has confirmed that Cee Lo Green, the Grammy-winning multi-platinum R&B singer and mentor on NBC’s The Voice, has joined the cast, which includes American Idol winner Jordin Sparks in the title role of an aspiring music star, and Whitney Houston as her mother.
Carmen Ejogo (Away We Go) and Tika Sumpter (The CW’s Gossip Girl) have also signed up to play Sparks’ sisters, Sister and Dolores; together, the trio rise together in the Motown-era music business as a Supremes-like group. Green will play their opening act, while another new addition, Omari Hardwick (TNT’s Dark Blue), will play one of the love interests for Ejogo’s character. Derek Luke and Mike Epps round out the cast. Director Salim Akil (Jumping the Broom) will helm the film from a script penned by his wife Mara Brock Akil (The CW’s Girlfriends).
Meanwhile, R&B superstar R. Kelly has agreed to write original music for the Sparkle soundtrack.
The film is set to begin shooting next month.