Corporate Obituaries: Total Request Live

The life of MTV's (VIA) flagship program Total Request Live -- or TRL, as it's more commonly shrieked -- was tragically cut short on November 16, 2008, due to low ratings and network restructuring. It was only 10 years old.

Those familiar with the show and its notable accomplishments in the bearing of teen midriffs gathered to pay their respects during a nationally televised event that featured gyrations from singer Beyonce Knowles.

The upstart program was conceived when network executives saw the inherent potential in combining MTV Live's celebrity interviews and musical performances with Total Request's viewer participation. The show premiered in its lifelong Times Square home on September 14, 1998, and the affable Carson Daly hosted the proceedings.

Immediately popular, TRL’s video lineup was initially tallied according to viewer requests. Then, in October 2007, the countdown began factoring other criteria like charts, downloads, radio play and ringtones.

TRL launched the careers of dozens of clean-cut boy bands and female pop vocalists. Acts like Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who enjoyed incessant exposure on the program, owe a lot to the late broadcast.

But after the departure of Daly and the gradual egress of bubblegum pop, TRL’s viewership declined. A bevy of pretty young things were trotted out as hosts in an effort to keep the program alive, but in September 2008 MTV announced publicly that its pride and joy had taken a turn for the worse and wouldn't be around much longer.

Its ceremonial sendoff was a fitting one; as TRL was never one to let tragedy dampen moods, the remembrance ceremony was more of a carefree celebration rather than a dour and commemoration.

FNMTV, now airing in its place, has big shoes to fill. This new platform for airing music videos and collecting instant viewer feedback is hosted by the (contractually) irreplaceable Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz - husband to one-time TRL sweetheart Ashlee Simpson.

Although the chances of resurrection are slim, some maintain the resilient little program lives on in the souls of international markets - like TRL Italy and Mexico's Los 10+ Pedidos.

Yes, there’s a little TRL in all of us.