No More TRL: The End of MTV's Total Request Live

It all began in 1998. Teen pop sensations were taking the nation by storm, and more and more people were tuning into MTV to see what their favorite music stars were up to. Every afternoon, people everywhere tuned into MTV glued to the television to watch "Total Request Live" also known as "TRL." Carson Daly was the host that introduced the latest music news and also counted down the top ten videos of the day, voted on by music fans everywhere. Music fans of every age gathered every day to see who was on top of the countdown, who had new hits and what was new in the music industry.

TRL became a huge hit for MTV. People flocked to Times Square in New York to surround the studio and hopefully catch a glimpse of the action. Music stars often stopped in to visit and debut new songs, talk about whats going on in their life, and to get in touch on a more personal basis with their fan base. Fans often were inside the studio live and helped introduce songs and ask their favorite music stars questions. This made the show more than just a live music countdown. In 1999, the show was at its height of glory, with over 750,000 people tuning in. The 2,000th episode of the show premiered in May of 2007.

TRL executive producer Dave Sirulnick announced that in November of 2008 the show would end. He stated that it wasn't the end of TRL, but it was taking a small break, even thought he couldn't state how long of a break it would take. MTV wanted to reward the show and close the era of TRL in a big way. After counting down the hits every day for ten years in a row, MTV show producers are ready for a well deserved break. It has been ten years since the show aired. Stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, NSYNC and many more stopped in to visit and perform on the show. Research and studies show that the on the go ways of people everywhere today have opted for them to see the music charts and watch videos and hits on other means, such as internet downloads and video streaming to name a few. People simply don't rely on television to watch their favorite music videos anymore.

Not to worry, MTV does have a similar show in mind. FNMTV is set to air for good in November, hosted by Pete Wentz. will show videos and live performances. However, this show will not have a live countdown like TRL. FNMTV had a successfull fifteen episode run in the summer of 2008.

So long TRL and congratulations. People everywhere will never forget your legacy, and how you showed us new trends, new hits and an overall good time. TRL will be greatly missed, but it will go down in history. Many of people and fans alike will be sad to see TRL go, and will cross their fingers for a sooner than later comeback!