Total Request Live (known commonly as TRL) was an American television program that aired on MTV premiered on September 14, 1998.

During the original run of the program, TRL played the ten most requested music videos of the day, as voted on by viewers via phone or online.

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 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.

The show began successfully, receiving hundreds of votes for popular artists such as Hanson, Aaliyah, Blaque, TLC, Eminem, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Janet Jackson, *NSYNC, and Backstreet Boys.

After winning a viewer contest to interview celebrities at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Hilarie Burton was hired as a full-time VJ.

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.

In 2003, 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 a year earlier on NBC.

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.

On November 2, 2006, the show introduced what was billed as the first-ever hip hop public service announcement on global warming.

However, MTV still secretly planned[citation needed] to cancel the show and replace one with even more emphasis on viewer interaction, named YouRL (a homophone of URL.

[1] Several artists made appearances, including Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock, JC Chasez, Christina Aguilera, Travis Barker, Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff, Eminem, and Korn's Jonathan Davis.

[19] Former host Carson Daly described the media atmosphere after his departure from TRL in an interview with TV Guide: "MySpace was sold.

[22] 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.

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.

[3] In addition to the hosts, Liza Koshy, The Dolan Twins, Eva Gutowski, Gabbie Hanna and Gigi Gorgeous and Jaymes Skendarian were correspondents.

[28] On April 23, 2018, MTV launched a pre-recorded, hour-long daily morning edition of TRL titled Total Request AM.

[30] TRL became "appointment after-school TV, its studio at 1515 Broadway a pop-culture fishbowl where rabid teens could catch a glimpse of their favorite stars.

As MTV News correspondent SuChin Pak said, "For young people, TRL was not only where you got to see your rock idols and pop stars, but where you connected with the major events happening around the world, outside the small town you were living in.

MTV News correspondent John Norris said, "It's an interesting debate whether NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney [Spears], Christina [Aguilera], Jessica [Simpson] and Good Charlotte would have had the careers they had without TRL.

"[31] Writing for Spin, Peter Gaston opined that TRL "helped keep the major labels afloat by boosting pop artists sales numbers on the Billboard charts.

[37] Fans numbering in the thousands stood outside TRL's studio to see NSYNC or Backstreet Boys appear as guests, resulting in the closure of Times Square.

[39][40] Other boy bands of the era who achieved number one videos or received heavy rotation on the show included 98 Degrees, O-Town, B2K, soulDecision,[40] and LFO.

[41] Pop singers like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson all made their music debuts on TRL as well.

The nu metal/rap metal bands Korn and Limp Bizkit were particularly popular on the program in the late 1990s, and often shared airtime with Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

[44] In later years, Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy and Sum 41 also were successful on the TRL chart.

"When You Look Me in the Eyes" was on the charts for several weeks before peaking at number one, after fans crushed and flooded the TRL site by requesting the video hundreds of times on March 19, 2008.

A PC video game called MTV Total Request Live Trivia was developed by Hypnotix and published by Take-Two Interactive, with a release on August 14, 2001.