It’s quite maddening to think that MTV’s most beloved video countdown show, Total Request Live, all started 18 years ago today. With Carson Daly at the helm of it all in New York’s Times Square, TRL became a massive entity all on its own within its ten year run and catapulted many of today’s top performers to stardom. There was room for everybody on TRL and that all-inclusive philosophy made a lasting impression. To say it is greatly missed – no matter how much we understand that it would never be the same today – would be the understatement of a lifetime.
Without TRL, there probably would be no TDL. As we all grew up with TRL in our lives, it’s hard to imagine the world of music and pop culture without it. Its impact has inspired more than we can explain and these 50 songs best represent the epitome of epic that was Total Request Live. Enjoy, reminisce and share your favorite TRL memories with us in the comments below!
