Beyoncé received the Grammy for Best Country Album at this year’s ceremony and no one was more thrilled for her than her husband Jay-Z.

On Sunday night (February 2), Queen Bey was presented with the coveted award for her eighth album Cowboy Carter – which also won Album of the Year – a dive into the Black roots of country and the overlooked contributions of Black artists to the genre.

Introduced by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé said she was ‘very fully and honored’ to receive the accolade.

While she appeared shocked to bag the Grammy, her partner, rapper Jay-Z, had known all along she would make it – at least according to a lip-reading expert.

As Beyoncé stood up to go to the stage, she hugged Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, with her husband leaning over to ‘whisper’ something in her ear.

Now, lip reader NJ Hickling has offered their interpretation of the mystery surrounding the couple’s exchange moments before the singer made her speech.

Beyoncé was previously nominated for Album of the Year but never won (Getty Images/JC Olivera)

Hickling told The Mirror the ‘nine words’ the musician apparently said to his wife.

“Woah woah woah. Bout time! You’re a top girl,” Jay-Z said, according to the lip reader.

Once on stage, Beyoncé gave a heartfelt speech encouraging artists to pursue their passions regardless of genre codifications.

“Wow I really was not expecting this,” she said.

“I want to thank God, oh my God, that I’m able to still do what I love after so many years.”

The star then added: “I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it. I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists. And I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about, and to say, ‘Stay persistent.'”

Beyoncé dedicated her award to Linda Martell, one of the pioneers for Black musicians in country music. Martell was the first Black woman to perform solo at the Grand Ole Opry and features on several of Cowboy Carter‘s songs.

Cowboy Carter is the third-most nominated album in Grammy history (Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images)

On Sunday, Beyoncé also became the first Black woman to win a Grammy for Album of the Year since Lauryn Hill took home the prize in 1999 with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Beyoncé was nominated in 11 categories at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards and won three – Album of the Year, Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for ‘II Most Wanted’ with Miley Cyrus.

How many Grammys has Beyoncé won?

Beyoncé is the most awarded artist in Grammy history, with 35 Grammy wins and 99 nominations since first being nominated in 2000 with Destiny’s Child.