Origin Total Request Live originated from several pre-existing programs on
MTV. Various viewer request shows, such as
Dial MTV and ''MTV's Most Wanted
, had aired on the network since 1986. In 1997 and 1998, MTV launched two new shows that became the predecessors of TRL
: MTV Live, which was hosted by Toby Amies, Carson Daly, and Ananda Lewis and featured live performances and interviews from musical artists, and Total Request'', a viewer request show hosted by Daly.
Total Request was more subdued than
MTV Live, as Daly introduced
music videos from an empty, dimly lit set. As the show progressed and gained more momentum, it was added to the daytime programming during MTV's
Summer Share in
Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The show proved to be one of the most watched and most interactive in MTV history, demonstrating that it had potential to become an even larger success.
Original run (1998–2008) Carson Daly era In September 1998, MTV producers merged the real-time aspect of
MTV Live with the fan-controlled countdown aspect of
Total Request into
Total Request Live. The program made its debut from MTV Studios on September 14. The show then grew to become MTV's unofficial
flagship program. The original host of
TRL, Carson Daly, brought popularity to the show. The abbreviation
TRL was adopted as the official title of the show in February 1999, after Daly and
Dave Holmes began using it on air regularly. In the years following, the program was rarely referred to by its original title. The show began successfully, receiving hundreds of votes for popular artists such as
Aaliyah,
Backstreet Boys,
Blaque,
Britney Spears,
Christina Aguilera,
Eminem,
Hanson,
Janet Jackson,
Kid Rock,
Korn,
Limp Bizkit,
*NSYNC, and
TLC.
TRL spent its first year developing a cult-type following. In late 1999, a
live studio audience was added. By early 2000, the show reached its peak, becoming a very recognizable pop culture icon in its first two years of existence. A weekend edition of the show known as
TRL Weekend, with a countdown of the week's top 10 videos, aired for a short time in 2000. In 2000, MTV gradually began introducing new
VJs on
TRL. After winning a viewer contest to interview celebrities at the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards,
Hilarie Burton was hired as a full-time VJ. Quddus Philippe began hosting duties in May 2001 as part of MTV's
Summer in the Keys. The following year, both
Damien Fahey and
La La Vasquez began hosting duties. These VJs often co-hosted with Daly or substituted in his absence. In July 2001, MTV sponsored the
Total Request Live Tour, which played over 30 dates in North America and featured acts like
Destiny's Child,
3LW,
Jessica Simpson,
Eve, and
Nelly. On October 23, 2002,
TRL celebrated its 1,000th episode. The number-one video on that day was "
Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera. Also throughout 2002, original host Daly was gradually seen less often, as he had begun his own late-night talk show
Last Call with Carson Daly on
NBC. The show had near-daily segments from
MTV News correspondents reporting on the latest in national or entertainment and music news from inside the studio.
Post-Carson Daly era In 2005, the next generation of
TRL was ushered in as Carson Daly officially stepped down as host to focus on his own talk show, which premiered two years earlier on NBC. Following Daly's departure, Damien Fahey, Hilarie Burton, Quddus, and La La Vasquez rotated as hosts. Later additions to the hosting roster included
Vanessa Minnillo in 2003,
Susie Castillo in 2005,
Stephen Colletti and
Cipha Sounds in 2006, and
Lyndsey Rodrigues in 2007. Some changes were made to
TRL voting process in 2005. The show previously allowed anyone to vote online several times, but as part of these changes, only registered members of
MTV.com could vote online. Additionally, a limit of one vote per day was added. Then, on July 10, 2006, MTV announced that votes would not be taken by phone, ending the use of the "DIAL MTV" phone number, which had been in use for voting on MTV since the premiere of the countdown show
Dial MTV in the mid-1980s. In September 2006,
TRL reached its eighth anniversary and, at that point, the show was the longest-running live program that MTV had ever produced. Around this time, it began airing four days a week (Monday through Thursday), instead of all five weekdays. On November 2, 2006, the show introduced what was billed as the first-ever
hip hop public service announcement on
global warming. The three-minute piece, titled "Trees", warned about deforestation and the dangers of global warming. The video corresponded with MTV's social campaign,
Break the Addiction, as part of
think MTV. On May 22, 2007,
TRL celebrated its 2000th episode, showing highlights from the past 2000 episodes, and a special countdown of ten of the most successful videos to ever appear on the show.
Justin Timberlake's "
Cry Me a River" topped the special countdown. By 2008, the only remaining hosts of
TRL were Fahey and Rodrigues. Burton left
TRL in 2004 after joining the cast of
The WB/
CW's
One Tree Hill. Quddus departed in 2006 and became host of
TV One Access. Minnillo left in 2007 and resumed an acting career.
First cancellation In 2007, rumors began circulating that the ratings-challenged music video countdown show was to be cancelled. In early 2007, an average of 373,000 viewers regularly watched the program.
New York Daily News were one of the first to publish this rumor. In February 2007, MTV said the rumor was unfounded and claimed
TRL would continue to air for the foreseeable future. The producers of
TRL experimented with web-based viewer interaction throughout the 2006–2007 season, showing
viral videos and allowing viewers to send feedback on a video via
internet forums and
webcams, along with a heavy emphasis on MTV's since discontinued Overdrive video portal. However, MTV still secretly planned to cancel the show and replace one with even more emphasis on viewer interaction, named
YouRL (a
homophone of
URL.) Consequently, in July 2007, it was reported that
YouRL was not received well by test audiences and the concept was abandoned.
Total Request Live proceeded with a new season as usual on September 4, marking the tenth season of the show. On September 15, 2008, it was announced that
TRL would end. The final regular weekday episode aired on November 13, 2008, with guest
Seth Green and
The All-American Rejects. The Rejects spent the entire episode assisting in the tear down of the set which was a theme for the episode. At the end of the episode, Rodrigues and Fahey cooperatively added the last step in the demolition process by shutting down all the lights. Preceding this was a montage of cast and crew members saying their goodbyes by waving to the camera.
Total Finale Live, a three-hour special marking the end of the show, aired on November 16, 2008. Former host Carson Daly described the media atmosphere after his departure from
TRL in an interview with
TV Guide: "MySpace was sold.
Social networking took off. Technology went crazy. The whole tectonic shift of mass media. There were a lot of reasons why
TRL became kind of a different show after I left. I don't necessarily think it had anything to with me leaving as much as it had to do with the changing landscape." The last music video to be played on
TRL (during the final episode) was "
...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, as the video that made number one on the countdown of the most iconic videos of all time.
Final top 10 TRL chose the top ten most iconic videos and aired them as their final countdown.
Revivals (2014–2016) On June 25, 2014, MTV announced that they would bring back
Total Request Live for a one-off special edition on July 2, presented by MTV personality
Sway with recording artist
Ariana Grande, who performed her single "
Problem" and premiered her song "
Break Free", as well as having her hip hop knowledge tested in a "Hip Hop Mix Up" game. The special was titled
Total Ariana Live and was broadcast from MTV's Times Square studio in front of a live audience. Grande called it "a huge honor" to bring back
TRL. The episode drew an average of 456,000 viewers. On September 27, 2016, as part of MTV's Elect This campaign, the network revived the program for a one-hour live special called
Total Registration Live. It was simulcast on MTV's website, app,
Facebook and
YouTube pages, and ElectThis.com. It was hosted by
Nessa and featured performances by
Ty Dolla Sign from his politically motivated mixtape
Campaign.
Kendall Jenner appeared in Times Square on behalf of
Rock the Vote, and
Ana Marie Cox and
Jamil Smith from MTV News appeared on-air for segments. There were other appearances by
Joss Whedon,
Camila Cabello,
Vic Mensa,
Natalia Dyer, and
Mack Wilds. Stories of millennials who have been activists were spotlighted.
MTV Classic Following the launch of
MTV Classic on August 1, 2016, music video blocks have consistently aired on the network under the name
Total Request Playlist. However, this is merely an automated playlist of pop, rap/hip-hop, R&B, and rock videos from the late 1990s to the 2000s.
Return (2017–2019) On July 30, 2017, MTV announced that the network would revive
TRL. Since January 22, 2018,
TRL has been shortened from a full hour to only a half-hour per day. The program was on hiatus until April 23, 2018. In February 2018, a half-hour late-night edition of TRL,
Total Request LateNight was launched. The show aired Monday and Tuesday at 11 PM and was often an after-show for a preceding program. MTV announced plans to expand the show to three nights in the summer and four nights by the end of the year, but this never materialized. On April 23, 2018, MTV launched a pre-recorded, hour-long daily morning edition of
TRL titled
Total Request AM. The show aired at 8 AM and was hosted by Sway.
Vinny from
Jersey Shore was brought on as host for the first week and the first guests were boy band
PrettyMuch. The program featured the return of a top ten countdown focusing on a specific playlist (Monday Motivation being the first countdown). An offshoot of the program,
Fresh Out Live, airs every Friday on MTV. ==Impact==