Tina Knowles is still processing her daughter Beyoncé’s landmark Album of the Year victory at the 2025 Grammy Awards. In an exclusive preview of her upcoming interview on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the matriarch of music’s most iconic family opened up about the emotional moment Beyoncé made history with her country-inspired Cowboy Carter—marking her 35th Grammy win and cementing her status as the most-awarded artist in the ceremony’s history.
“I was at her house helping her and Blue Ivy get ready, and I just wasn’t expecting it,” Knowles, 71, revealed to Hudson, according to advance footage of Monday’s episode. “When they announced her name, I was screaming—but for a second, I couldn’t even move. Rumi and Sir were sitting there with me, and we were all frozen until we saw Bey’s face on camera. That’s when it hit me.”
Beyoncé’s stunned reaction quickly went viral, with fans celebrating the long-awaited Album of the Year triumph—her first in that category—after years of contentious snubs. “There’s been so many times I thought that would happen and it didn’t,” Knowles admitted. “This time, I was really, really shocked.”
The moment also highlighted a playful dynamic within the Knowles-Carter clan. Tina chuckled as she recalled 13-year-old Blue Ivy—Beyoncé’s eldest daughter with Jay-Z—stepping into a “manager” role during the chaos. “Blue was nudging her mom like, ‘Get up!’ while Beyoncé was just sitting there in disbelief,” she said, grinning. “Blue’s such a bossy little Capricorn. Takes after her grandma.”
Hudson, a Grammy winner herself, praised the family’s multigenerational talent, noting how Alicia Keys had honored Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles, during the ceremony for her trailblazing work as a producer. “Your whole family is a force,” Hudson remarked.
“Solange is a true artist—she lives and breathes it,” Tina replied, before giving a shout-out to former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, whom she considers another daughter. “Kelly’s my baby too. I’m proud of all of them.”
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, a genre-defying exploration of country music’s roots, has been hailed as a cultural reset since its 2024 release. The project scored nine nominations at this year’s Grammys, including Best Country Album and Song of the Year for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which also won Best Country Song.
Tina’s interview arrives as she promotes her memoir, Matriarch (out March 4), which delves into her journey raising groundbreaking artists and navigating fame’s whirlwind. For now, though, she’s basking in a victory decades in the making. “This wasn’t just an award,” she told Hudson. “It was a moment of seeing your child recognized in a way you’d always dreamed of.”
The Jennifer Hudson Show airs weekdays in syndication. Clips from Tina’s interview will stream on the show’s YouTube channel.
