We wish we got to see Jay-Z, who was discreetly hanging out (unknown to us) in the VIP section of Rihanna's gig at Webster Hall -- where she delivered her seventh and final show from the exhausting 777 Tour.

Honestly, we were set on seeing one of her collaborators take the stage in New York. There were rumors that Chris Brown would make a surprise appearance in Berlin, and Kanye in Stockholm, but none of it was true. So we prayed that Jay-Z, Kanye or even Eminem would perform alongside the 'Diamonds' singer on Tuesday. Even if Jay-Z went up there and just sang his opening line from 'Umbrella,' we would be stoked.

But it never happened.

It felt a bit anticlimactic for such an intense tour -- but just like getting an exclusive interview with RiRi, we were never promised a surprise collaboration.

Regardless, Rihanna delivered in New York. She appeared on stage around 11PM, wearing a white ensemble -- oversized jersey, high-waisted panties and shoe-laced heeled pumps. She was ghetto fab in stark white. "This is definitely the best show so far, and it's not even over," Rihanna told the Webster Hall fans, who either won tickets on air or stood in line at the Best Buy venue hours earlier for a 'Unapologetic' CD signing.

Like we've said previously, the songs she closes her set list with ('Umbrella' and 'We Found Love') get the crowd riled up more than anything. But the two that really stood out for us this night were 'Stay' (it just keeps getting better) and 'Phresh Off the Runway.' "Is it time for new music? Jam with me here..." Rihanna said before her bassist Adam and guitarist Nuno started jamming and swaying beside each other.

What we did notice though, was that Rihanna delivered a sincere shoutout to her NYC fans, which stood out from the usual "It's been too long [enter city here]" sort of speak. RiRi starts, "I'm spoiled right now. You are die-hard fans, one. You don't give a f---, two." Then she adds, "Three, that makes you unapologetic, a lot like me."

Once the gig was over, there was an 'Unapologetic' album release party at Jay-Z's club 40/40. Hova was there, but until only about 1:30AM (supposedly he left before RiRi even showed up), as well as J. Cole (also part of the Roc Nation family). The one person that didn't make it? Us. Seriously, we tried to motivate ourselves -- but when you've heard Rihanna's same set list seven days in a row, and then flown around the world and gotten only 15 hours of sleep in one week, the last thing we could do was drink and mingle at 2AM.

But the 777 Tour was a trip of a lifetime -- Stockholm and London being two of our favorite stops, based on the fans, the location, and Ri's performance. Bonding at 30,000 feet will never be forgotten; we met some great like-minded people from publications all over the world, and mingled with radio hosts and label reps. Oh, and we became friends with Tim, the "777 Streaker."

So Ri, thank you for this opportunity. Now, if you don't mind, We're going to go catch some Zzzzzzzs.

Jay-Z Rihanna
Splash News / PopCrush
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Rihanna 777 Tour New York
PopCrush
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Rihanna 777 Tour New York
PopCrush
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Rihanna 777 Tour New York
PopCrush
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777 Tour New York Set List:
1. ‘Cockiness’
2. 'Birthday Cake (Remix)'
3. ‘Talk That Talk’
4. ‘Wait Your Turn’
5. ‘Man Down’
6. ‘Only Girl in the World’
7. ‘Don't Stop the Music'
8. ‘S&M’
9. ‘Phresh Off the Runway’
Acoustic Set:
10. ‘Unfaithful’
11. ‘Take a Bow’
12. ‘Hate That I Love You’
(End Acoustic Set)
13. ‘Where Have You Been’
15. ‘Run This Town’
16. ‘Live Your Life’
17. ‘All of the Lights’
18. ‘Stay'
19. 'Diamonds'
20. ‘Umbrella’
21. ‘We Found Love’

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