Total Request Live was one of MTV’s most popular and loved shows since the networks started out. TRL was broadcast for the first time one decade ago, in 1998 – in the music show field, it is basically a lifetime. The show was a very crucial step for MTV, being one of the first programs that promoted an interactive relationship between the viewer and what was happening on television.

It was reality-based and its target was to get the audience, who was sitting in front of the TV at home, as involved as possible in the development of the program. Giving the viewer a little power of decision glues them to the set and is sure to make them tune back in a second time.

In the beginning, Total Request Live – or TRL, the acronym used the original host Carson Daly – showed ten music videos. They were chosen by the public, based on online voting and phone-ins. The show began by airing the least popular video of the ten, and ended with the most popular one. Artists also got a chance to come on the popular show, wave to their fans, talk about themselves and promote their music, during the 60 minutes of the show.

The voting format changed in 2007, when other factors where considered when deciding which video was number one, such as charts, ringtones, downloads, radio airplay and streams. The show was contested a few times by fans who found out that the “live” show was pre-recorded more often than not.


The original host of the show was the charismatic Carson Daly, but he stepped down in 2003, after having a few guest-hosts for a while. After the accommodation period, the former guests started to host the show by rotation.

On Sunday, a full-fledged Total Request Live reunion took place. Although not physically present, Britney Spears was the star of the show, as the video of “Baby One More Time” was the top video of the final countdown. Stars such as Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Ludacris or the band Fall Out Boy were present to say goodbye to the show that helped them reach stardom.