Why Beyoncé’s Mom Was ‘Shocked’ by Her Grammy Wins

By now, everybody knows just how shocked Beyoncé was when when she won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album — there’s even a meme about it!

But the pop superstar wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

During a new appearance on Jennifer Hudson’s talk show, Bey’s mom, Tina Knowles, admits that her daughter’s big Grammys night caught her by surprise, too.

“I was really shocked. Oh, I was so shocked,” Knowles says. “In fact, I sat there for a second and didn’t even believe that it was true.”

Knowles was babysitting Rumi and Sir, the 7-year-old twins Beyoncé shares with her husband Jay-Z, during the ceremony. She says all three of them watched the TV in stunned silence after the Best Country Album winner’s name was called, and it wasn’t until the camera panned over to Beyoncé — showing her much-memeified shocked reaction — that she knew for sure it was real.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Knowles continues, “Because it’s been so many times that I thought that that would happen and it didn’t.”

• To clarify, Beyoncé’s Best Country Album win followed her first-ever nomination in that category.
• When Knowles refers to “so many times” in the past she thought Beyoncé might win, she’s talking about her Album of the Year victory.
• Beyoncé won Album of the Year — also for her country project Cowboy Carter — for the first time in 2025, having been nominated for the award four times in the past.

Beyoncé is the most-awarded artist in Grammy history. Before 2025, she held 32 trophies at the awards show, but had never won Album of the Year. She became the first Black woman to ever win Best Country Album at this year’s awards show.

Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé’s first full country project, and she recently announced dates for a tour in 2025.