Beyoncé made sure to give her seven-year-old daughter, Rumi Carter, a special post-Grammys shoutout on Sunday after winning Album of the Year for her latest release Cowboy Carter.

After her big win was announced, the pop superstar was escorted to the stage by her eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the conclusion of the ceremony, however, she realised she’d forgotten to thank Rumi by name in her acceptance speech. 

“Rumi, who’s on the album ― our youngest daughter ― she was watching,” she told the outlet.

“I forgot to thank her, so I get to thank her now. Thank you, Rumi!”

Watch Beyoncé’s Entertainment Tonight interview below:

Beyoncé broke the record for the most Grammy wins by a single artist in 2023 with her album Renaissance, and added three more to that tally on Sunday: Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her duet with Miley Cyrus, II Most Wanted, as well as Best Country Album and Album Of The Year for Cowboy Carter.

She also made history again, becoming the first Black female artist to win Best Country Album. But her Album Of The Year win was, by all accounts, the most significant, given that she’d been nominated for the Grammys’ top prize ― and, subsequently, shut out ― four times previously.

For many, those losses highlighted how the Grammys have historically sidelined Black female artists, especially since her nominated albums ― 2008’s I Am… Sasha Fierce, 2013’s Beyoncé, 2016’s Lemonade and 2022’s Renaissance ― were sonically innovative blockbusters.

She now becomes only the fourth Black woman to win Album of the Year, following Natalie Cole in 1992, Whitney Houston in 1993 and Lauryn Hill in 1999. 

Beyoncé described her Album Of The Year win as “very surreal,” noting: “It’s been 25 years of just working really hard and trying my best to keep growing and keep opening up doors.”  

Unveiled in March of last year, Cowboy Carter drew sterling reviews from critics and hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart upon its release. Lead single Texas Hold ’Em also became an instant smash on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Nashville purists, however, were notably slower to embrace the album ― which was not altogether surprising, given the perception of country music as a conservative genre that has been slow to include artists of colour. 

In her ET chat, Beyoncé suggested some of those early naysayers had come around. 

“The love I got from the country community tonight really made me feel so seen,” she said.

“I’m very grateful ... to continue to open up the world for people that just love and respect the genre, no matter where they come from. Everybody should be invited.”