TRL Going Out With a Bang

After 10 years of screaming fans, frantic voting, and celebrity appearances, MTV’s Total Request Live is finally going off the air. A star-studded 2-hour finale will air tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sinking ratings for the music video show are behind its demise—about 322,000 watch the weekday afternoon program now, compared to 761,000 in its heyday of 1999.

“It was an American institution for kids,” said host Damian Fahey, who took over from Carson Daly. “Seeing that go away and fade out is pretty shocking to them, I'm sure.” The show made stars of artists and fans alike, and allowed watchers at home to call in and request their favorite videos. But don’t cry for the decade-old show. “That's a long life span, especially for an MTV show,” one veteran fan said. “It's like 40 in MTV years.” (More MTV stories.)