Despite hopes/prayers that she’d attend, Beyoncé skipped the 2024 Met Gala—which would have marked her first appearance at the annual fashion fundraiser since 2016’s “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”

So, what was she doing instead? Unclear, but she posted these iconic Cowboy Carter visuals, so gonna assume the answer to that question is sitting back and enjoying her monumentally successful album!

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As a reminder, Beyoncé dropped Cowboy Carter on March 29, 2024, and since then, fans have been eagerly anticipating a new tour announcement. Over the weekend, she dropped a tour ticked on her Been Country website, so feel free to spiral about that:

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Back in March, Beyoncé spoke at length about her album on Instagram, saying, “I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”

She added, “This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history. The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”

Bey ended her comments with the now iconic, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé” album.’”