Cynthia Mort, the director of the upcoming film 'Nina', was forced to defend Saldana's casting last year after receiving backlash from the late musician's daughter, reported Femalefirst.
"I think a lot of people are going to be surprised of the sheer power of her. She went to work. She is a huge admirer of Nina Simone and that crept into what she did.
"She wanted to tell the truth and every day we were on that set, that's what I saw. She did do her own singing. It was fantastic, surprisingly... I was pretty blown away," Oyelowo said.