''Let It Shine'' is a 2012 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

that premiered on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

. It features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

Tyler James Williams Tyler James Williams (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, making several appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Little Bill'', and ''Sesame Street''. Williams later rose to prominence for playing ...

Coco Jones Courtney "Coco" Jones (born January 4, 1998) is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence starring in the Disney Channel film '' Let It Shine'' (2012) and was featured on ''Radio Disney's Next Big Thing'' from 2010 to 2011. Jones wa ...

, Trevor Jackson and

Brandon Mychal Smith Brandon Mychal Smith (born May 29, 1989) is an American actor, singer, dancer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Bug Wendal in ''Gridiron Gang'', Li'l Danny Dawkins in '' Phil of the Future'', Nico Harris in ''Sonny with a Chance'' and ' ...

. The film follows a shy, talented rapper and musician who pens romantic hip hop verses only to stand idly by as they're delivered to the girl of his dreams, Roxie Andrews, by his best friend, in a retelling of

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play '' Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with ...

's 1897 play ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

''. The film was directed by

Paul Hoen Paul Hoen (born December 28, 1961) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for his directorial work with Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, especially his direction of Disney Channel Original Movies. He has directed and produce ...

and written by Eric Daniel and Don D. Scott. The

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

premiered on June 15, 2012 in the United States and Canada, and July 20, 2012 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Plot

Fifteen-year-old Cyrus DeBarge is a talented choir director in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

, who writes rap lyrics under the pseudonym "Truth" because of his father Pastor Jacob's disapproval of rap music and his shy demeanor compared to his more outgoing best friend Kris McDuffy. Cyrus secretly works as a busboy at a club, ''"Off the Street"'', where the music label of their childhood friend, teenage singing sensation Roxanne "Roxie" Andrews, is sponsoring a songwriting contest. Roxie chooses Truth's song "Don't Run Away" as the winning entry but misidentifies Kris as Truth because the photo Cyrus submitted was of them both. Kris convinces Cyrus to let him keep the credit because he has feelings for Roxie. As Kris uses Cyrus' verses to get closer to both Roxie and his newfound fame, Cyrus begins to resent his friend. As Cyrus and Roxie get to know each other she says she can talk to him better than she can talk to Kris. Cyrus invites her to perform with the choir at his church. After their performance, Jacob humiliates Roxie in front of the congregation by condemning people living in "hip-hop-crisy". His wife Gail persuades Jacob to apologize to Roxie at the club, where he catches his son working and learns that Cyrus writes rap lyrics. At first furious, Jacob comes to realize his son's raps carry positive messages. The conflict between Cyrus and Kris comes to a head in a physical altercation. Club owner Levi convinces them not to let their friendship die. During a duet with Roxie, Cyrus takes Kris' place on the stage to sing "Me and You", revealing that he was Truth all along. Cyrus apologizes but Roxie storms from the stage wanting nothing to do with either of them. At a rapping challenge, Cyrus calls out arrogant rapper Lord of Da Bling. Cyrus wins the trophy by revealing to the audience that Bling is a fraud, having seen him the previous week working his day job as a taxi driver. Kris tells Roxie that Cyrus is a great person and only pretended he was not Truth for Kris. He says Cyrus is real and the one she needs to be with. Roxie goes to the church and hugs Cyrus as they sing "Let it Shine".

Cast

as Cyrus DeBarge/Truth. He is shown to be musically talented, but likes hanging back in Kris's shadow. *

as Roxanne "Roxie" Andrews, a famous singer and Cyrus and Kris' friend since kindergarten. * Trevor Jackson as Kris McDuffy, Cyrus' best friend. He is mistaken for Truth. *

as Lord of da Bling, the antagonist of the story who humiliates Cyrus at the club. *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

as Gail DeBarge, Cyrus' mother who openly encourages her son to follow his dreams. *

Alex Désert Alex Désert (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in the TV series ''The Flash'', '' The Heights'' with Jamie Walters, ''Becker'' with Ted Danson, and Mr. Williams on ''Boy Meets World'', as well as the voice ...

as Levi, club owner *

Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom '' ...

as Lyla, Roxanne's manager and main stylist. *

Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Known for his commanding presence Vance started his career on stage before transitioning his career into film and television. He's received various accolades including a Tony Awa ...

as Pastor Jacob DeBarge, Cyrus' father who, throughout most of the movie, believes that rap and hip-hop should be banned from the community. At the end of the movie, after reading Cyrus' lyrics, he accepts his son's love of rap/hip-hop and supports him. *

Algee Smith Algee Smith IV (born November 7, 1994) is an American actor and singer. After appearing in several small television roles, Smith first rose to fame portraying Ralph Tresvant in BET's ''The New Edition Story'' miniseries. The same year, he garner ...

as Da Boss, another rapper whom Lord of da Bling defeats in order to make it to the Rap Grand Slam. *

Shay Roundtree Shay Roundtree (born November 23, 1977 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American actor. Early life Roundtree began his early training as an actor by joining drama clubs in his native hometown, Augusta, Georgia. He began his formal training as an actor ...

as Rap Battle Host. * Hans Daniels as Phantom, a rapper who is defeated in a rap battle by Revelation. * Courtney Gray as Revelation, a talented rapper who is defeated by the Lord of da Bling in a rap battle. *

Chloe x Halle Chloe x Halle are an Contemporary R&B, R&B duo composed of sisters Chloe Bailey, Chloe and Halle Bailey. At a young age, the sisters performed in minor acting roles before moving from Mableton, Georgia, to Los Angeles in 2012. The two began post ...

as Choir Members

Production

The movie's soundtrack features 13 original songs by acclaimed music producers/songwriters/performers

Rock Mafia Rock Mafia is an American record production team, consisting of Tim James and Antonina Armato who have been active since the early 2000s. They have written and produced 38 top ten singles, and have sold over 50 million records worldwide. They hav ...

Toby Gad Tobias "Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968) is a Los Angeles-based German music producer/songwriter, best known for co-writing John Legend's biggest hit, " All of Me," the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for co-writing and producin ...

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ban ...

Andy Dodd Andy Dodd (born March 28, 1977) is an American music producer and songwriter. His work spans two decades and sales of over 50 million albums worldwide. He is the co-owner of multiple production companies partnered with The Walt Disney Company. ...

, In-Q,

Adam Hicks Adam Paul Nielson Hicks (born November 28, 1992) is an American actor, rapper, singer, and songwriter. His first leading role was in ''How to Eat Fried Worms''. He was also known for playing Luther in the Disney XD series ''Zeke and Luther'' a ...

Lindy Robbins Lindy Robbins is an American songwriter from Los Angeles, whose songs include Demi Lovato's " Skyscraper", Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me", David Guetta's " Dangerous" featuring Sam Martin, MKTO's "Classic", Hot Chelle Rae's " Tonight, Toni ...

Dapo Torimiro Dapo Torimiro is a Nigerian songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer. Born in Lagos, he has worked in the music industry in the US for several years writing and producing music for artists' album projects, touring with num ...

, Thomas Sturges, Jon Vella and Adam Watts. The movie was shot in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. The DVD was released on August 7, 2012.

Reception

The premiere of ''Let It Shine'' garnered 5.7 million viewers, the high cable rating of the day, and obtained an adult 18–49 rating of 0.9, second only to ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

''. It was the most watched

to that point of 2012 and was the #1 movie of the year across kids 6–11, tweens and teens. The ''Rap Battle Edition'', which aired on June 30, was watched by 4.54 million people.

Nominations

Broadcast

The movie aired worldwide on

. It premiered on June 15, 2012 in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, on July 20, 2012 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on August 3, 2012 in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and on September 28, 2012 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

it previewed on October 19, 2012 and premiered on November 10, 2012. In the United States, the episode aired following a new episode of

Good Luck Charlie ''Good Luck Charlie'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from April 4, 2010, to February 16, 2014. The series' creators, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, no ...

, and was itself followed by the series premiere of

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...

Cancelled sequel

In a September 2020 video posted to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, Coco Jones revealed a sequel film had been written but was eventually scrapped.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Let It Shine (film) 2010s children's films 2010s musical films 2010s teen drama films 2012 television films 2012 films African-American musical films American children's films American films based on plays American musical drama films American teen drama films American teen musical films Disney Channel Original Movie films American drama television films Films about Christianity Films about evangelicalism Films based on Cyrano de Bergerac (play) Films directed by Paul Hoen Films scored by Richard Gibbs Films set in Atlanta Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) 2010s hip hop films Musical television films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films