--- title: TRL Is Returning to MTV With Ariana Grande: What We Want to See description: Ariana Grande will perform during the one-day return of the popular MTV show canonical: https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-25T15:59:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:37:02.242Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: TRL Is Returning to MTV With Ariana Grande: What We Want to See og:description: Ariana Grande will perform during the one-day return of the popular MTV show og:url: https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ac81b60cf86e86/6986992e3bc999c15c1a4411/carson-daly-britney-spears-trl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Carson Daly Britney Spears og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: TRL Is Returning to MTV With Ariana Grande: What We Want to See twitter:description: Ariana Grande will perform during the one-day return of the popular MTV show twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ac81b60cf86e86/6986992e3bc999c15c1a4411/carson-daly-britney-spears-trl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Things MTV Can Do to Make the Return of _TRL_ Perfect  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jun 25, 2014 3:59 PM UTC  Carson Daly & Britney Spears on TRL in New York City, Nov. 6, 2001. Carson Daly & Britney Spears on TRL in New York City, Nov. 6, 2001.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jun 25, 2014 3:59 PM UTC _Total Request Live_, lovingly dubbed _TRL_, is returning for one day to MTV. The popular show was a favorite of teens growing up in the early 2000s: host Carson Daly would play the top 10 most requested music videos every day and interview celebs. There were even live performances in New York by bands like N’Sync, Britney Spears and Korn. Michael Jackson actually started a riot in Times Square when he came on the show. It ended in 2008 after a 10-year run, when the Internet officially supplanted the need to air music videos on TV. But it will be back for one evening on Wednesday July 2 at 7 p.m. Ariana Grande will perform “Problem,” currently the No. 2 song in the country, and debut a follow-up single on the show. The show will be called “Total Ariana Live” in her honor. Here’s what MTV needs to do to make the revival perfect: **1\. Carson Daly must host** He ended is run as host in 2002, but he will forever be the host in our hearts **2\. Bring back Britney** Britney first went on TRL in her prime. This could be her long-awaited resurgence. **3\. Videos of screaming teenagers** It would’t be _TRL_ without crowd shots of girls freaking out. Ariana Grande has a lot of young, crazy fans so this should work out. **4\. A Justin Timberlake appearance** Ideally with his throwback [blond curls](http://jezebel.com/5991788/why-and-how-did-justin-timberlake-turn-his-back-on-his-curly-haired-roots) **5\. There must be VJs** It’s an outdated term, but they’re necessary **6\. Follow-up with another** **_TRL_** **Spring Break** If everything goes well, leave the door open for another _TRL_ Spring Break episode. Those were iconic episodes. The final scene in _22 Jump Street_ would not have existed without the precedence of a _TRL_ Spring Break. We’ve just replaced Blink 182 with Diplo. **7\. Use Twitter** _TRL_ would have been so much simpler had Twitter existed in the early 2000s. Which videos the show played were determined by some secret algorithm that took into account votes, charts, iTunes downloads, radio airplay and ringtones (remember when we used to have pop music ring tones?). Now instead of texting to vote, we can just Tweet or vote on Facebook or have some Spotify tie-in. If #TRL isn’t trending on Twitter on July 2, MTV isn’t doing its job. Until July, here’s a little preview of Ariana Grande’s “Problem.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/"},"headline":"7 Things MTV Can Do to Make the Return of TRL Perfect","datePublished":"2014-06-25T15:59:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:37:02.242Z","description":"Ariana Grande will perform during the one-day return of the popular MTV show","url":"https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/","keywords":["TV","Music","MTV","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ac81b60cf86e86/6986992e3bc999c15c1a4411/carson-daly-britney-spears-trl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ac81b60cf86e86/6986992e3bc999c15c1a4411/carson-daly-britney-spears-trl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Carson Daly Britney Spears","caption":"Carson Daly Britney Spears","creditText":"Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tv/","name":"TV"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2921252/total-request-live-mtv-returns/","name":"7 Things MTV Can Do to Make the Return of TRL Perfect"}}]}] ```