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Ariana Grande channels Whitney Houston in epic musical tribute

Recording artist Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Ariana Grande paid tribute to Whitney Houston performing two of the late singing icon’s most famous tunes on the season finale of ABC’s Greatest Hits on Thursday.

The 23-year-old star kicked off the night with performances of How Will I Know and Queen of the Night while rocking a ’90s-inspired outfit paired with retro sunglasses, a pearl choker, black bodysuit, fishnets and over-the-knee silver boots. (Very Whitney, if you ask us.)

She wrote on Instagram: “honored to be paying homage to my angel tonight. tune in to @greatesthitsabc at 9 #greatesthits #whitneyhouston.”

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The show featured hits from 1980 through 2005 and included performances by Ariana Grande, Céline Dion, John Legend, Flo Rida, Hunter Hayes with Smash Mouth, Nelly, Richard Marx and Sheryl Crow.

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The Dangerous Woman singer has previously gushed that Houston was one of her musical icons.

In 2013, Grande told Billboard: “Whitney holds such a special place in my heart. She inspired me to start singing as a little girl. I’d watch The Bodyguard and tell my mom I wanted to do that one day. Her riffs are so precise and I love her tone. She’s my inspiration.”

In May, the songstress and DJ Khaled took to Snapchat to ask each other some questions while they completed an elliptical workout.

Grande made sure everyone knew that Houston is still a huge part of her life.

“Who’s your musical inspiration?” Khaled asked Grande.

“My musical inspiration..I love Madonna and…..I also love Imogen Heap and Whitney Houston and all the divas and…DJ Khaled…of course,” Grande responded.

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Grande has been doing impressions for years and most recently on Saturday Night Live, as she took on the role of Chloe the intern at Tidal, who had to fix the streaming service by doing impressions to save the site from going under.

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Watch below for Ariana Grande’s SNL impression of, I Will Always Love You.

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