Posted by Emily Exton on 07/24/2012 at 3:12 PM News

The Popdust Files: ariana grande, Die In Your Arms, justin bieber, Victorious

Justin Bieber first made a name for himself by covering the likes of Edwin McCain and Ne-Yo before puberty set in, and has since established his more mature sound with renditions of Drake and Lil Wayne songs. After showing so much love to musical idols he now can call peers, it’s about time fellow stars caught on to the cover game and showed The Bieb some love. Isn’t that what his whole “pay it forward” mantra is all about? While Beliebers aren’t shy about recreating Believe tunes, 19-year-old singer-actress Ariana Grande has become the latest performer to add Bieber to her songbook. The Victorious star released her cover of “Die In Your Arms” (good choice!) to Twitter today as a gift to her fans, proving that her performance abilities don’t always require the help of flattering television studio lighting or favorable acoustics, nor need to be preceded by the likes of Victoria Justice.

Grande’s got serious belting skills, turning Bieber’s Michael Jackson-esque tune into a multi-layered expression of teenage puppy love glee, and ad-libbing some cheeky new lines before verse two (“A girl like me don’t stay single for long”). Because Grande is already a star in her own right, thanks to the unbreakable Nickelodeon machine and one or two memorable music videos, we won’t need to watch out for signs of the Madison Beer effect. But considering he’s The Bieb, and is known to make grown men cry, she’s probably still waiting for that coveted retweet all the same. Check it out below.