Ariana Grande, musical impressions master, did Whitney Houston proud.
Rather than emulate the late singer, who died in 2012, Grande put her own spin on Houston's classics "How Will I Know" and "Queen of the Night." The 23-year-old pop princess performed Thursday on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits. Before taking the stage, Grande told her 40.5 million Twitter followers she was "honored to be paying homage to my angel."
Blending styles from the '80s and '90s (while rocking her signature ponytail, natch), Grande looked and sounded like Houston in her heyday. After her performance ended (no encore?!), the "Into You" singer shared a series of behind-the-scenes pictures via her Instagram account. In one caption, Grande said she was "honored & grateful to have been a part" of Greatest Hits.
The night was full of musical tributes, as Adam Lambert sang George Michaels' "Faith" and John Legend sang Lauryn Hill's "Ex Factor" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)." Other performers included Celine Dion (singing "My Heart Will Go On" live from Montreal), En Vogue, Flo Rida, Colin Hay, Richard Marx, Nelly and New Edition. Sheryl Crow also teamed up with co-host Kelsea Ballerini for "All I Wanna Do," while Smash Mouth recruited Hunter Hayes for "All Star."