Goodbye, TRL
Last week I read that MTV has decided to end its show TRL (Total Request Live) after 10 years. The last episode will air on November 10. Sadly, the show was basically the only one left on the network that focused on playing music videos, as most of the programming is now reality shows. TRL had a guest, or sometimes several guests on every show, who promoted upcoming albums, movies, and television shows. I can still remember rushing home from middle school just so I could catch TRL on the days I didn’t have after-school activities. This was during the time when MTV would actually play music (ironic, since MTV stands for Music Television), and TRL was THE show for us preteens and teenagers.
Now, I can’t even remember the last time I watched an episode of TRL or even caught a glimpse of one while flipping through channels. When I asked my friends tonight at dinner if they had heard that the show was being canceled, one of them replied, “I didn’t even know that show was still on.” It seems like TRL has lost its touch, but maybe I’m just too old to be watching it. Regardless, TRL was a great PR platform for celebrities and musicians.
TRL was somewhat of a cultural phenomenon with many events in pop culture history going down on its set. Who can forget Mariah Carey performing an impromptu striptease on TV, P. Diddy’s “Rock the Vote” campaign, or the debut of Carson Daly as a television show host? No matter what the issue, TRL was a go-to for celebrities to promote their causes. It was sort of like CNN’s Larry King Live, but for teenagers. When TRL concludes its run, there won’t be another outlet like it.
Some TRL fans might be questioning the cancellation of the show, but I believe the show has more than outlived its prime. The Internet has forced many media outlets to become obsolete, and it seems we can add music video countdown shows to that list. There are so many different ways to view the content that is shown on TRL now, particularly online. Teenagers are now so used to having everything at the snap of their fingers, so why would they sit on their couch and wait for an hour to find out what the No. 1 video of the day is when they can just go onto iTunes and find out on their own? And with the creation of YouTube, they can watch music videos all day long whenever they want.
There is no question that the ending of TRL will cause celebrities and their publicists to search for other outlets to promote their newest album to the teenybopper demographic. It is somewhat scary to see how much of an impact the Internet can have on such a long running show as TRL. I will always remember the glory days of MTV’s TRL and I am thankful for all of the juicy pop culture moments it has provided me over the years.