Jenny McCarthy Reflects on MTV Roots After Music Channel Goes Dark

Jenny McCarthy is getting nostalgic over the show that put her on the pop-culture map, recalling her breakout moment on "Singled Out" at MTV ... a sweet throwback that hits a little different now that the channel’s gone dark.

TMZ caught up with Jenny McCarthy in NYC Monday ... and, while she’s clearly got nothing but love for her "Singled Out" career, she dropped a wild memory from the very start -- revealing that the night before her first day of filming back in ’95, she almost died.

Check out the full video ... 'cause Jenny details the time she burned down her hotel room ... a close call that could’ve changed a whole lot.

She also gets candid about mourning the end of MTV’s 24-hour music era, now officially gone dark worldwide -- saying the network gave her the freedom to be fully herself like nowhere else -- and she even weighs in on whether a new version of MTV could ever rise from the ashes. Check it out!