The media blitz surrounding RiRi (as she's known affectionately to fans) has only begun, but expect it to hit warp speed now that she's sounded off on her side of the story regarding Chris Brown and his attack on her in February, which she did last week on 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. Facing it head on, it was an unblinkingly honest (and media savvy) re-emergence ahead of the release of her new album Rated R dropping November 23.

Don't forget Jay-Z's celebrity fans, including Jamie Foxx, James Blunt, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. My friends and I squealed when Ellen Pompeo threw up the Roc to us when we yelled her name! She looked fabulous and was chatting with husband, Chris. Nicole Richie joined her friend, DJ Samantha Ronson.

According to Star: Jay-Z sure knows how to make an entrance.

A recording of the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" launched a 10-minute video countdown for the New York rapper's appearance at the Air Canada Centre on Halloween night.

At one minute 30, the arena lights dimmed. With 28 seconds to go, the music stopped and the crowd of 14,000 began chanting Hova, one of the entertainer's many aliases, and put their thumbs and forefingers together in the shape of his diamond logo.

Right on cue, the performer rose up from a trap door, clad in all-black and wearing a trick-or-treat friendly hockey mask which he quickly exchanged for sunglasses as the band introduced "Run This Town."

That was followed by "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," another selection from current album The Blueprint 3, which the performer referred to as "superhero music."

That may be the better characterization of Jay-Z's status in hip-hop, than the messianic position he's more commonly afforded given his longevity and propensity for self-attached monikers like (Je)Hova and "The Rock of Gibraltar."

According to the Seattle Times:

A review of Jay-Z's Oct. 17 show at KeyArena in Seattle, where one of the biggest stars in the world showed his fans he loved them — and vice versa.

At the end of his concert Saturday night — a concert everybody in the sold-out KeyArena rapped every word to — Jay-Z acknowledged his constituents. He pointed into the crowd from the front row to the rafters. A spotlight followed the line from his finger to his people.

"You in the Crooks & Castles shirt. Yeah. I see you. You with the nice dress. I like that. You're killin' that."

It went on forever, Jay-Z letting people know he saw them. And then near the stage, someone held up an airbrushed T-shirt which Jay-Z demanded be shown on one of the JumboTron screens behind him. On it was a man's face and the words "Lost One," a reference to a 2006 Jay-Z song partially about the death of his nephew. Jay explained this significance to the rest of the crowd, who already understood, and said:

"That's love. That's love, right there."

Besides being one of the biggest stars in the world, Jay-Z is part of people's lives (and deaths) in a way few pop musicians are nowadays, and it felt good to see him call special attention to that fact.

KeyArena was with him from the first song, "Run This Town," to the last, "Young Forever," which are both off his new album "The Blueprint 3." It's a little over a month old and marks Jay's 11th number-one album, breaking Elvis' record. Jay-Z is now The King.

He commanded his ocean of adorers to wave its hands side to side and they did, but at one point got the entire stadium to lose its mind just by standing still and delivering a pointed sidelong glance.

The best song of the night was "Empire State of the Mind," a "Blueprint 3" song. On the gigantic screen behind the stage, a camera on a helicopter showed New York City at night from about 80 stories up, slo-mo, all shiny skyscrapers and big-city glitter. With that swirling behind him, Jay-Z panthered around the stage in black jeans and a Yankees hat, rapping about how he's the new Sinatra, seeming very much the best rapper alive. The hook was handled by Bridget Kelly, a new Jay-Z find with a big voice who made the chorus a total gut-puncher, something like Harry Nilsson's "Can't Live (If Living is Without You)."

Jay-Z crammed in so many hits, some only got 30-seconds of stage time. But while nobody in attendance heard all their favorites, everyone went home loving Jay-Z, and knowing Jay-Z loved them.

Gallery | Jay-Z performs at the Key Arena