Chris Young is taking country music fans on a trip to his alma mater MTSU in his hometown, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in CMT’s new digital franchise “CMT Stages.”

The series, which debuts with Young today, features headlining artists who reflect on their career highlights, iconic songs and musical influences. Young filmed his “CMT Stages” episode in Chris Young Café on campus at MTSU and delivers stripped-back performances of his hits, including “Gettin'You Home (The Black Dress Song),” “I’m Comin’ Over” and “Famous Friends.” He shares family photos, talks about his childhood, his lifelong relationship with music, his run on “Nashville Star,” and how he had to be patient while waiting for his music to connect at country radio. Young also goes in-depth on the infection that could have killed him in 2013.

“I don’t think people realized quite how bad it was,” he told CMT’s cameras. “Out of nowhere, I had an infection in my leg, and I went septic.”

Doctors told Young that his blood pressure had dropped so low that his organs would start failing. Before they wheeled him off to surgery, a woman told him to say his prayers to whatever God he believes in in case he didn’t wake up.

“It was really serious,” Young said. “When you go through something like that, it does cause you to be grateful for even the bad days because I could have very easily not had any more of them.”

Young signed with RCA Nashville in 2006 and has earned 12 No. 1 songs and more than 5 billion streams.

“CMT Stages,” with the Grand Ole Opry star, is available now on CMT socials. The special also premieres today commercial free on CMT Music and CMT’s Pluto TV channel, with select performances on CMT.

“CMT Stages” is the latest original series produced specifically for digital platforms, including YouTube and Facebook. Additional CMT Digital franchises include the 2021 Shorty Award-winning “Viral To Verified,” “On The Road” and “Campfire Sessions.” “CMT Stages” is executive produced by Melissa Goldberg and Corey Janus and produced by Christina Cooper, with Brittany Lutz in charge of production.