I’ve always appreciated Beyonce, since I have a genetic predisposition for killer beats, sickening choreography, and hooks that will melt your eyeballs with their hot-hot heat. In the last few weeks, however, I’ve been riding an especially killer Beyonce wave. The lead-up to her latest album 4 has included this amazing backstage footage that captures her Olympian vocal ability, a charming video of her dancing with kids in a Target, and reviews that have been impressively articulate about her persona, her music, and her appeal.

For me, the result has been a sharpened understanding of why I like her so much: Put simply, Beyonce is a professional. She shows up, she does her job, and she does it with impeccable skill. She doesn’t seem like she’s airing out her psychological issues for our amusement, and she doesn’t seem concerned with showing us “the real Beyonce.” Instead, she comes across as an entertainer who’s putting on a show, full stop. That means her hair will be done, her vocals will be tight, and her persona will be carefully controlled.

And you know what? Good. I want just to be entertained by an entertainer. Beyonce still projects a personable, relatable energy—she seems like a nice, hard-working woman who appreciates her good fortune—but she also seems like she’s in charge of what’s happening. Sure, her dad may have stolen some of her money, but overall, she’s riding sidesaddle on the Celebrity Dragon, not letting it drag her around gates of the castle.

In that way, she’s like Lady Gaga. L Geezy projects a very different persona, but she also seems like she’s in charge of her artistic package. As with Beyonce, I respect that and find it kind of exhilarating. I don’t need to feel like I’m best friends with a pop star. I’d rather be impressed by their work. I’d rather have craft over crackups, if you will.

All of which is to say, I was psyched to hear Beyonce’s new album. I didn’t need the entire collection to bowl me over. I just needed a few Diamond Jams.

And lord, I got them.

I love the sassy power ballad “Best Thing I Never Had” (co-written and co-produced by Babyface!), not least because it uses the phrase “you showed your ass.” That’s one of my favorite disses of all time, because it makes me imagine someone slapping their bare bottom like a bonobo in the middle of a board meeting.

I also love “1 + 1,” the song that Beyonce’s singing in that rehearsal clip up there. It’s an oddly-structured, hookless ballad that is all wrong for radio but is all right for showcasing Beyonce’s singing. Which… she sounds better than ever, right? More emotional and expressive?

But it’s possible you’ve heard both of those songs, as “Best Thing” is currently a single, and “1 + 1″ was released as a promotional track. Neither of them, nor the lackluster single “Run The World (Girls)” has torn up the charts, but they’ve gotten decent exposure anyway.

However, those songs are just pretty footmaids to “Countdown,” a song that is so good it could be called Good Humor and sell rocket pops. Inexplicably, it has not been released as a single, but one listen suggests it could dominate the radio like Mrs. Dash dominates the seasoning business:

Seriously, you guys… what the hell is happening in this song? There are, like, sixteen beats, four tempi, and probably every horn section that was within 40 miles of the recording studio that day. Yet it all coheres. The sound assault is exciting and dynamic. It’s a joyous excess.

The vocal is just the same. At :44, Beyonce puts three syllables in the word “love,” and it sounds like she’s really enjoying it. Like she was in the studio and said, “You know what? Fuck it. Let’s get country.” I celebrate this attitude.

And finally… “boof.” As in the line, “Me and my boof, and my boof-boof ridin’.” WHAT?!?!? You guys, Beyonce is so cool that she will make up a word on the damn spot. Lyric sheets suggest she’s actually saying “Me and my boo, and my boo coupe riding,” which makes a bit more sense, but if you listen, it’s clear she’s mutating those words to suit her needs. And it’s awesome.

Tell me the truth: You’re jamming to this song right now, right? It’s cool. So am I.