discussion About TRL

[Lee!!]

Show information, including history, hosts, voting, and more.

History of TRL
In the fall of 1997, the roots of TRL began as a pre-taped top 5 countdown called Total Request. A counterpart live program, MTV Live, also aired daily. On September 14, 1998, MTV merged the two shows, also adding 5 extra videos and statistics, and Total Request Live was born. The show was hosted regularly by Carson Daly from 1998 to 2002. From time to time, he had help from KK Holiday, Dave Holmes, Ananda Lewis, Jesse Camp, and celebrities such as Joey McIntyre and P. Diddy.

Beginning in 2002, various VJs took Carson's place. Damien Fahey, Quddus, LaLa, Vanessa Minnillo, Hilarie Burton, Susie Castillo, and Stephen Coletti all counted down the top ten videos in Carson Daly's absence. Carson officially withdrew from TRL in 2003, a year after launching his own NBC show, Last Call with Carson Daly. TRL was hosted only by Damien Fahey on a regular basis for much of 2007 and 2008, with guest co-hosts filling in occasionally.

Official statistics were removed from the program after October 18, 2007, as MP3 and ringtone downloads, the Billboard Hot 100, online streams and Mainstream/Top 40 airplay all became factored in with TRL votes. This change is the reason why our various compilations of statistics in The TRL Archive ended on the same date, October 18, 2007.

TRL came to an end on November 16, 2008, with a 3-hour blowout special, Total Finale Live. The show was hosted by Carson Daly and many other VJs from TRL's history, as they welcomed a full slate of familiar guests and sent off TRL once and for all.

Contact Information
MTV's "live line" was 1-888-311-4343. It was used for special events during the show.
Audience requests went to 1-212-398-8549 or [email protected].
The postal address was Total Request Live, c/o MTV, P.O. Box 2001, New York, NY 10108.

Voting Information
The voting hotline until 2006 was 1-800-DIAL-MTV. That phone number dates back to 1992.
MTV's official voting page on the Internet was http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/trl/TRLvoting.jhtml.
Registered users at MTV.com were allowed to vote once per day from 2006 to 2008.