Since Jay Leno announced the first-ever musical guest on his new The Jay Leno Show would be Jay-Z with Rihanna and Kanye West a few weeks ago, anticipation has been building for what was to be the “Umbrella” star’s return to the spotlight — her first major televised appearance since she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in February.

But all eyes were on Leno tonight for an unexpected reason: Kanye West. After igniting a firestorm of controversy by invading the MTV Video Music Awards stage last night to protest Beyoncé’s loss of Best Female Video to Taylor Swift, West spent most of the day uncharacteristically under the radar, posting an apology on his blog in which he said he felt as awkward as Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents. On Leno, West was greeted by cheers. He apologized, called his actions on the VMAs “rude,” and vowed to take time off to address personal problems that may have led to his unexpected rant.

Photos: The 2009 VMAs

Leno thanked West for appearing on his show despite the drama, and added that West wanted to take the opportunity to speak to the public. Saying his day had been “extremely difficult,” West acknowledged he had spent the afternoon “dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away from a talented artist.” Reflecting on the few seconds that got him booted from MTV’s ceremony at Radio City Musical Hall, West said he knew his stunt had gone awry “As soon as I gave the mic back to her and she didn’t keep going.”

Adding that he has spent his life trying to help people, West said, “My entire life, I’ve only wanted to give and do something that I felt was right. And I immediately knew in the situation that it was wrong, and it wasn’t a spectacle … it’s actually someone’s emotions, you know, that I stepped on.”

West concluded that his outburst was “rude, period” and said he wishes to apologize to Swift in person. When Leno asked West what his deceased mother, Donda, what would have said about this situation, West looked wounded and took a moment to respond, wiping his forehead as Leno pressed on, asking if she’d give him a lecture.

“I deal with hurt. And, you know, so many celebrities, they never take the time off. I’ve never taken the time off to really — you know, just music after music and tour after tour,” he said, perhaps referring to his next project — his upcoming jaunt with Lady Gaga, which announced its first four dates on Friday, before the VMAs.

“But I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyze how I’m going to make it through the rest of this life, how I’m going to improve. Because I am a celebrity, and that’s something I have to deal with,” he said.

Noting he was simply “ashamed that my hurt caused someone else’s hurt” West tried to reach out to Swift, offering to do anything he could to help the young star in the future. “I want to live this thing,” he concluded.

West then put on his shades and joined Jay-Z and Rihanna for a performance of Jay’s The Blueprint 3 single “Run This Town,” as the three had performed it at Jigga’s 9/11 benefit last Friday in New York. Unlike the boos he got last night, West received cheers when he finished his verse, and the crowd gave the trio a warm reception as they ended the track.

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More than any rapper and more than most pop stars, Jay-Z knows the significance of a moment.

The Brooklyn MC’s career is practically defined by them. There’s his Summer Jam obliteration of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy back in 2001, the same year he brought out Michael Jackson for Hot 97’s annual concert. There was his retirement show at Madison Square Garden captured in the documentary Fade to Black. And then there was his Radio City Music Hall show to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Reasonable Doubt. And who could forget the Best of Both Worlds fiasco with R. Kelly that turned into the celebrated Jay-Z and Friends jaunt. He’s even transformed festivals into his personal showcases, with his appearance at Glastonbury last year and All Points West this year.

But when Hov announced he’d be headlining a September 11th benefit show, to not only coincide with the anniversary of his classic album The Blueprint but also to mark the release of his latest effort, The Blueprint 3, one had to wonder if this ambitious slate reeked of opportunism.

It did not.

Last night at the Garden, Jay-Z delivered a carefully orchestrated and riveting show striking the the impossibly difficult balance of serving the cause and seizing another night that will stand out in his long list of historic performances.

“We celebrating life tonight, we having a good time,” Jay-Z told the sold-out audience, which included Diddy, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and Chris Rock, among other celebrities. “But let’s not forget in 2001 when the first Blueprint came out terrorist attacked New York. They thought they would weaken us. They were sadly mistaken. We stand here even stronger. This is our town. We run New York City. We run this town.”

And with that, the blaring Rihanna’s wailing voice boomed over the sound system. The “Umbrella” star then appeared under the spotlight decked out in a dominatrix-like black outfit. “We are, yeah I said it, We are, This is Roc Nation, pledge your allegiance,” Jay-Z rapped.

Kanye West joined the pair toward the end of the song, completing the triumvirate as he jumped from the stairs on the middle of the stage. ‘Ye stuck around for a few more songs, diving into “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” before asking Big Brother if he can keep going.

“Let’s do it,” Jay replied.

“Good Life” then came on, sans T-Pain, and an animated West — complete with a new ‘do, with zig-zag lines cut into his hair — fumbled a few of his lines but saved himself with an impromptu freestyle. “I fucked up the flow, but everybody know, I gotta give a shout out to my big bro,” he spit, drawing a smile from Jay.

The parade of guest appearances continued with Pharell Williams, Swizz Beatz and Mary J. Blige joining Jay-Z. John Mayer also popped up to play guitar for Jay-Z on “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”

Throughout the set, Jay-Z dipped into catalog but also performed new songs from his recently released BP3. Upstart Kid Cudi arrived onstage to assist Hov on “Already Home,” where the legendary rapper eviscerates mouthy MCs who say Jay-Z’s tenure on top is in the way of their rise to fame.

“These niggas want me to go, don’t they know that I’m gone/ They know that I’m space shuttle level, they need oxyggggon/Don’t they know that I yawn/ Only time they exciting is when they mentioning Shawn,” he rapped.

The Timbaland-produced “Venus vs. Mars” was another new tracked Jay-Z performed. He closed the song out with a new freestyled verse at the end where he name-checked Kanye’s lady friend Amber Rose and financial villain Bernie Madoff. Seconds after he finished, Beyoncé, featured on the song’s chorus, emerged from the bowels of the Garden rising up through a trap door to perform “Diva.”

The star wattage was bright but the greatest applause of the night came in honor of the service men and women who protect our country on this tragic date eight years ago.

As “Young Forever” spilled out over the arena speakers, a beautiful montage of firefighters and police officers who lost their lives on 9/11 eight years ago appeared behind Jay-Z on a huge screen. “Make some noise for those that lost their lives so we could live ours,” Jay-Z said.

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