Stars and Fans Say Goodbye to ‘TRL’ - Total Request Live on MTV

Stars and Fans Say Goodbye to ‘TRL’ Peter Kramer/Associated Press

From left, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Nelly performed on MTV's TRL "Total Finale Live" at the MTV studios in Times Square on Sunday.

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There were superstar guests like 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. There was a Top 10 video countdown. And there were bittersweet teenage squeals echoing through Times Square all night

“TRL,” the afternoon video show that has been an MTV flagship for 10 years, came to an end on Sunday night with the network’s version of a New Orleans funeral. For three hours, a party of pop stars, former hosts and thousands of ecstatic young fans celebrated its legacy with shouts, hits, bling and tears.

For the 2,247th and last episode of “TRL,” Beyoncé sang and danced in the studio, Fall Out Boy played on a temporary stage on Broadway, 50 Cent apparently arrived just in time for his performance (although he made sure to swing by the press room earlier), and Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Nelly shared a stage like a chummy hip-hop brat pack.

“This is like a big high school reunion in a way,” Mr. Timberlake told Carson Daly, the show’s former host, who had returned for the finale. “We kind of all grew up together.”

Not all guests had such wholesome toasts. Kid Rock entered the studio with a glass of beer, a fragrant cigar and a big grin. “I used to come here and they would say, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to put the cigar out,’” he said. “Well, guess what? It’s over; I ain’t putting the cigar out.”

It would not be “TRL” without Diddy, the hip-hop producer and indefatigable self-promoter who has been the show’s most frequent guest. Making his 38th appearance, he watched a montage of his previous visits and had just begun to speak when Mr. Daly noticed that his eyes were watering behind his dark shades.

“Are you crying?” Mr. Daly asked. “You’re a good actor — I can’t tell.”