Ariana Grande‘s powerhouse vocals have garnered her tons of comparisons to the divas who came before her, but on Thursday night, she got the chance to pay tribute to one of the greats — the inimitable Whitney Houston.
The 23-year-old singer appeared on the season finale of ABC’s Greatest Hits to perform a medley of the late Houston’s most beloved songs, including “How Will I Know” and “Queen of the Night” from the Bodyguard soundtrack. Previously, Grande gave a spot-on impersonation of Houston’s incredible vocals during an SNL skit to rave reviews.
The significance of the tribute wasn’t lost on Grande, who took to Twitter before her appearance to tell her followers how blessed she felt to be performing.
The finale also included performances by Celine Dion, John Legend, Nelly and Sheryl Crow.
Watch Grande’s full tribute to Whitney Houston below.
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Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com