Keke Palmer is back on the big screen starring alongside Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in Joyful Noise.

The musical comedy had an impressive opening weekend, grossing a total of $13.8 million at the box office.

The film centers around a gospel choir from a small town in Georgia that has fallen on hard times. Palmer stars as Latifah’s daughter, Olivia Hill, who is talented, full of sass and ready break away from her mother’s strict parenting.

One of the film’s musical highlights is Palmer’s rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”

During her interview with theGrio, the 18-year-old actress admitted that covering the iconic song was intimidating but she channeled Jackson’s spirit during the performance, saying, “Michael, you gotta be with me on this one.”

She also talked about her future music plans, and said that this movie was a great way to build up momentum for her upcoming album.

“I really want to push my singing out and make it just as prominent as my acting.”

Palmer is best known for her part on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson VP, but says that she hopes to transition into more mature roles in the near future.

“I’m not going to be popping out in films doing overs sexual things, but I don’t want to be the same character all of the time,” said Palmer.

The Joyful Noise star revealed that she was bullied from 5 to 8-years-old, and currently is one of the celebrity faces of the anti-bullying campaign, Saving Our Daughters.

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