There has been plenty of talk and controversy about Jay Leno leaving, and Jimmy Fallon taking over The Tonight Show, and last night, it finally happened. Fallon made his debut with a couple of big scheduled guests, and many more who came in to surprise everyone.

On his debut of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon was host to Will Smith as an interviewed guest, and U2 as the musical guest. It is hard to imagine two others to match their star persona for someone’s debut show. His flashy new credits also debuted, with direction from Spike Lee, and musical accompaniment by his house band, The Roots.

Before his transition to the late night talk shows, Jimmy Fallon became famous as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He was the co-anchor of “Weekend Update,” and after leaving in 2004, he went on to a career in film–but it did not last long. His film credits include Fever Pitch and Whip It.

Will Smith graced his show as the first guest, and as Jimmy Fallon has been known to do funny skits with guests, he got up for a hip hop dance routine with the popular actor, who is also a former hip hop artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpn30Pms8I

U2 performed their new song “Invisible,” and after that, sat down for an acoustic version of “Ordinary Love,” the Oscar-nominated song from the film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. “Invisible” was preformed on the roof in a surreal looking setting, which made for quite a performance for their debut of the song.

In addition to Will Smith and U2, the stars continued to show up throughout the show, and it seemed that all of Fallon’s celebrity friends wanted to welcome him in his new time slot. The long list of celebrities that showed up included Tina Fey, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Sarah Jessica Parker, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Mariah Carey, Joan Rivers, Tracey Morgan and Mike Tyson.

He had previously proved to be a natural while hosting NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and has earned his spot on The Tonight show, with its earlier time, and legendary brand name. With his new show, Fallon showed a bit of honesty, and a touch of nervousness when saying “I just want to do well. If you guys let me stick around long enough, maybe I’ll get the hang of it.”

A significant part of the new version of The Tonight Show is that it has been moved back to New York, and while the show had spent more than 40 years in Los Angeles, it has now been moved back to Rockefeller Plaza. Jay Leno was the host of the show for much of the past 20 years in Los Angeles. The show now airs in the same studio that was once witness to well-known host Johnny Carson, and before him, Jack Paar.

Image via Youtube