'Praise This' starring Chloe Bailey, showcases a new twist on Gospel music competitions

Actors Kendrick Cross, Anjelika Washington and Janora Duffie portray a loving family in the Peacock musical film, "Praise This". (Courtesy of: Allied Global Marketing)

The new Peacock movie “Praise This” takes the phrase “singing for Jesus” to a whole new level. The film stars Chloe Bailey as “Sam,” a young woman who is shipped off to Atlanta by her father in order to straighten out her life.

She moves in with her Aunt Liz, Uncle Larry and cousin Jessica, and ends up joining their church’s praise-team choir in hopes of getting the attention of music producers.

While preparing for the national competition, Sam decides to reevaluate her life and open herself up to new possibilities. Janora McDuffie, who portrays Aunt Liz, joined “City Lights” producer Summer Evans via Zoom to discuss the film.

“I think there are messages and things within the movie that transcend what someone would consider a ‘church movie’ or a ‘God movie,” said McDuffie. She said the message of the movie is about uniting behind something greater than ourselves. The film is available to stream on Peacock.

On June 3, The Gospel Music competition, “How Sweet the Sound,” is taking place at the Cobb Energy Centre. Witness choirs, soloists, dance ensembles and spoken word artists are all competing for twenty thousand dollars. More information is available here