15 iconic "TRL" performances

Just one year before her tragic death in a 2001 plane crash, R&B sensation Aaliyah pulled off an engaging performance of her song "Try Again" in front of a spring break crowd that couldn't get enough. 

In 2004, Total Request Live headed to Berlin, Germany, and brought along legendary rapper Eminem. The man formerly known as Marshall Mathers kept the crowd screaming as he performed "Like Toy Soldiers," the lead single from his album "Encore." 

On the streets of Times Square, Justin Timberlake proved to the world that he was ready to move on from the boy band era into a bonafide solo career with a performance of "Cry Me A River," from his first album "Justified," on TRL in 2002. 

Now that she's a massive star with her own talk show, it's easy to forget that in 2004, she was just two years out from her win on "American Idol." In this performance at MTV's Times Square headquarters, Clarkson's powerful pipes and the eternal catchiness of "Since U Been Gone" are a clear crowd-pleasers. 

With its overly involved choreography, and Britney's characteristic vocals, this performance of "Oops I Did It Again" just feels so quintessentially Y2K. And considering that it was on TRL in 2000, that totally makes sense. 

Perched on stools in the TRL studios performing the biggest hit of the year, the Backstreet Boys offered an intimate and stripped-down performance of "I Want It That Way" in 1999. In certain moments, the screams from the crowd actually drown out the music. 

By 2014, "TRL" was pretty much already a thing of the past. But Ariana Grande brought new relevance to the show that year with a gorgeous acoustic rendition of her song "Problem," and it's a stunning showcase of Grande's incredible vocal prowess. 

In 2004, Usher's "Yeah" was absolutely inescapable, and that's because it's still one of the catchiest club hits in music history. Usher teamed up with Lil' John to bring the song to TRL, complete with a totally 2000s dance routine — and outfits. 

In 2002, Christina Aguilera premiered her powerful ballad "Beautiful" on TRL via an intimate, acoustic performance that made it clear why she's considered one of the best pop singers of her generation. 

Even at the height of the boy band era, pop punk got its moment in the TRL sun when Blink-182 stopped by to perform an almost unimaginably energetic version of their song "Dammit." 

In 2003, Atlanta rap duo Outkast changed the game with "Hey Ya," a super-catchy hit that had everyone in the TRL audience trying to "shake it like a Polaroid picture." 

In 1998, NSYNC ruled the TRL airwaves, and fans packed into the street — and studio — with tons of signs (and plenty of screams!) to watch the band perform their song "Tearin' Up My Heart." 

In 2002, before the world officially knew they were a couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z stopped by TRL to perform their song "'03 Bonnie & Clyde." Who'd have thought then that they'd become one of the most powerful — and long-lasting — couples in entertainment? 

As throngs of spring breakers in bathing suits looked on, Avril Lavigne brought the pop-punk aesthetic to TRL in the summer of 2002 with a performance of her hit song "Complicated." 

After ten years on the airwaves, TRL called it quits (temporarily) in 2008 with a final performance from — who else? — Beyonce. It's an iconic moment in MTV history, with an excellent medley of "If I Were A Boy," "Single Ladies," and "Crazy In Love."