Sam Smith, who shot to fame with his single “Stay With Me” off of his highly-anticipated debut album In the Lonely Hour, is shocking his new fanbase with a stripped down cover of Whitney Houston’s 1985 hit “How Will I Know.”

The openly gay British singer, 22, is seen covering the song for a session with SiriusXM Radio, but the song was originally featured in an episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.

Smith talked about his love for the song with Rolling Stone, having picked it as one of his top 10 favorite R&B songs.

"A Whitney Houston song that makes me happy—it's a feel-good song. I love the juxtaposition of a melancholy lyric with an upbeat sound. People forget that's how she rose to fame. The more mature Whitney, like 'I Will Always Love You,' came later,” he said.

Last month, Smith came out to Fader Magazine and dedicated his first album to a man he fell in love with who “didn’t love me back.” He also said about being open about his sexual orientation, “I want to make it a normality because this is a non-issue. People wouldn’t ask a straight person these questions.”

image via INFphoto.com