On the series premiere in 1984, the music video for "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins, from the movie Footloose (1984), was the first ever video to reach #1.
MTV's flagship music video show until it was canceled in 1998. Total Request Live (1998) premiered immediately after its cancellation.
Each music video's rank on the countdown was determined objectively by a combination of compiling national album sales, video airplay, MTV research, and viewer request on a weekly basis.