Inside an Atlanta rehearsal space, it's more than just voices rising in song. It's healing and hope.

CommUnity ATL is a creative collective born from one woman's personal journey to reinvent herself.

For founder Deanna Dixon, the choir is a celebration of faith, second chances, and the courage to start again.

"I was going through a major life-changing event — I was going through a divorce — I had a gut feeling inside of me that Atlanta had something to offer me and I had a lot to offer Atlanta," Dixon said.

After years in Indianapolis, Dixon packed her car and her dreams, moving to Atlanta with nothing but faith and a feeling, and this wasn't her first transformation.

"Most of my life, I've had challenges with my weight," she said. "I was told I was a great singer, but I wasn't the healthiest version of me."

At 300 pounds, Dixon made the decision to undergo weight loss surgery, and that choice became the start of a journey that rebuilt her body and her spirit.

Then came a big break: she moved to California, singing backup for Beyoncé and Kanye West's Sunday Service choir.

When that ended, reality set in. She returned to Atlanta as a single mom, and her new stage was her car.

To make ends meet, she drove Uber, calling herself the "Rideshare Queen." 

What started as survival turned into something more. She began recording her rides as she serenaded passengers. 

Her joy went viral, and the opportunity to create a choir and host special events followed.

"Ever since then, we've been hosting events every Monday for the singing community," Dixon said.

The community grew to almost 100 members whose voices carried beyond the choir stands, but then she hit a roadblock.

Her rehearsal space shut down, and momentarily, she did too.

"My girlfriend called and said, 'Girl, get out of the house,' and I saw a piano on the Beltline. That's when I said, 'This is our new stage,'" she said.

The group's spontaneous performance of Bill Withers's "Lovely Day" went viral. Out of that moment, Dixon found the light that would guide her to her next chapter.

"It's a reminder he wasn't finished with me. I thought I was giving up my dreams — but your dreams will follow you wherever you go," she said.

Since that day, her choir has performed everywhere from Shonda Rhimes' book signing to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

"When something is for you, nothing can block it but you," she said. "I realized I wasn't buried. I was planted."

For Dixon and the CommUnity ATL Choir, every day is a lovely day.

"Every time I come here with the CommUnity, it feeds my soul in such a way that's indescribable, and I just always say we need each other," she said.

Dixon's choir now performs across the country.

She says her mission is simple: to remind people that no matter what you've lost, you're never too broken to sing again.