Rihanna Ready for Prime-Time Comeback, Thanks to Jays Leno and Z

Singer will perform on premiere episode of The Jay Leno Show Sept. 14, along with Jay-Z and Kanye West

By Gina Serpe Aug 06, 2009 8:40 PMTags
Rihanna, Jay LenoAP Photo/Richard Drew, NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater

No one in the 10 p.m. time slot's got swagga like Jay. Leno, that is.

The usually edgeless talk-show host just managed to book Rihanna for her first public performance since the Chris Brown attack six months ago.

The singer will be joining Kanye West and Jay-Z on Jay-L's prime-time debut Sept. 14, with the hip-hop trio set to perform their new single, "Run This Town."

But that's not the only major get Leno may have up his sleeve…

The host told E! Online's Watch With Kristin last night that he's close to locking in Tom Cruise to participate in his new segment, "The Green Car Challenge," wherein celebrities race each other in alternative-fuel vehicles.

"We talk cars and motorcycles all the time," Leno said of the Days of Thunder risk taker. "A lot of celebrities like green and a lot of celebrities like cars, and here's a chance to combine the two...We're going to see who is the fastest green celebrity."

Sounds like someone's show is already off and running.

And while both Rihanna and Leno will no doubt mutually benefit from their prime-time venture next month, Brown isn't having the same luck on the small screen.

Wrigley has confirmed to E! News that they at long last, well, wriggled out of their Doublemint sponsorship with the image-ruining singer, upgrading their mere suspension of Brown's contract from earlier this year.

"I can confirm that we have ended our relationship with Mr. Brown," Wrigley spokeswoman Jennifer Luth said.

In other words, zero the pleasure, zero the fun.

—Additional reporting by Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna and Lindsay Miller

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Want more Leno? Team WWK got the scoop on his new show, including which (better be ready for) prime-time players he's bringing along for the ride.