MY TOP 10: Left Eye Videos — 9. Melanie C “Never Be the Same Again”

9. Melanie C Featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes “Never Be the Same Again”
From Northern Star
Released:  March 20, 2000

This was the third single from former Spice Girl, Melanie C’s debut solo album, Northern Star.  A massive hit in the UK, what made it huge was that two super-girl-group girls got together.  In super hero terms, it was like Storm of the X-Men teaming up with the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four.  In this case, it was Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls teaming up with Left Eye of  TLC.  And the song wasn’t bad either and that always helps.

By this point, both women had already garnered huge success and established themselves as parts of 2 of the preimenent girl groups in pop history.  This was just a cherry on top of  the hits, trials, tribulations, and everything else that came with their VH1 Behind The Music specials.

I remember watching Gerri Halliwell, another former Spice Girl, on TRL.  I think she was debuting a solo video.  It was around the time of TLC’s “No Scrubs” being out.  It was on the countdown and she was next to the TV when it was screened that day.  Even she as a Spice Girl reacted to the TLC video like they and it were larger than life.  I always recognized, but that made me realize their contemporaries recognized, too.  Now, you all better recognize!  Here’s Number 9.

 

TRL Peaces Out

I’ve been wanting to comment on this for a minute. It was announced earlier this month that TRL would be canceled after being on the air for a little over a decade. Word on the net is that MTV plans to create and debut a new version of the show after TRL ends its run.

What can I say? I spent many a day in my 20s watching TRL. Undergrad days at UT were spent watching debut videos on TRL from time to time. I loved my 90s pop, R&B, and hip hop and I think TRL epitomizes that and was really at its height during that time. It goes without saying and it’s been said over and over that TRL was where the 90s pop princesses and boy bands hosted their coming out parties.

What was nice was that it wasn’t just the new popstarts. The royalty visited, too. A nice cross-section of popular culture graced the halls and cameras of TRL. This hodgepodge made for a now historic little show.

I think Carson Daly was the King of TRL. I don’t think they’ve had a better host since him. I like to joke that

Slightly thicker Carson Daly was juicier.

it took so many hosts to replace him. They only seemed to go to the multiple host format after he left and seemed to stick to it through the end of its run. Back in the day Carson was holding it down on his own.

The criticism he got is that he spoke differently depending on what kind of guests he had (pop vs. hip hop, etc.). I really didn’t mind this. I think this is what made him a good host. I think he was sincere in all of his guises. This is what made him relatable to his guests and translatable and universal to the TRL audience. I believe he got his start as a radio dj, so the passion for music was there. I think his late night talk show is still on the air, but I don’t think he or his show have the same spark because of this.

A friend was just recently telling me how he remembers when they used to play all the videos all the way through. This is definitely the end of an era and an end to… my youth? I hope not. I’m only 31. A special two-hour TRL finale will air on MTV on Sunday, November 16, 2008, at 8PM ET.