WATCH: TRL Is Back At MTV: Ed Sheeran Plays ‘Perfect’ In Times Square

It’s been nine years since Carson Daly helmed MTV’s TRL (for the uninitiated, the acronym stands for Total Request Live) and now the show is back even though Carson is not. Neither is the iconic video countdown.

But don’t despair. This reboot covers current music in many other (read: great!) ways. For instance, the premiere had Migos and Ed Sheeran as guests, the latter moving the crowd with his Perfect rendition.

The bespectacled redhead seemed to keep his eyes closed throughout the moving performance, a nice low-key song choice on a day in the USA when, given news of the Las Vegas tragedy and the loss of Tom Petty, life just seemed too sad for too many spoken words.

Smartphones were at the ready as the English superstar delivered his talent to the New York fans and the American viewing audience.

Before this happened, though, a special message via the show’s guests and hosts, including DJ Khaled, during the TRL 2017 premiere’s cold open honored the loss of life at Sunday night’s Southern Nevada concert. This gathering of unification also told watchers what they can do in the future to prevent gun violence.

TRL airs weekdays at 3:30 p.m., ET, from MTV’s spiffy new Times Square studio.