O'Brien hosted "The Tonight Show" for over seven months in 2009 and 2010. As part of a new contract negotiated with NBC in 2004, it was decided that O'Brien would take over "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno in 2009. Hosting "The Tonight Show" was a lifelong dream of O'Brien's, and the promise of succeeding Leno kept him in NBC's employ despite the fact that he likely could have secured a more lucrative deal at another network. O'Brien was a guest on Jay Leno's final episode of "The Tonight Show". On June 1, 2009, Will Ferrell became Conan's first "Tonight Show" guest on the couch and Pearl Jam appeared as his first musical guest.