GARNER — Scotty McCreery, the reigning "American Idol" from Garner, has received a double dose of good news - he now has a second gold single, and he's up for a second country music award.

"The Trouble With Girls," the second single from Scotty's album, "Clear As Day," was just certified as a gold record, meaning more than 500,000 copies shipped. Scotty's first single, "I Love You This Big," also went gold. The CD has reached both gold and platinum status. A platinum album has sold at least 1 million copies.

Scotty also learned that he is a nominee for New Artist of the Year at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. He'll be competing against two other young male country singers - Brantley Gilbert and Hunter Hayes. The awards will be telecast live from Las Vegas on April 1.

The nominees were selected from a combination of fan votes and members of the Academy of Country Music. Likewise, the winner will be picked by both fans and voting members. Fans will be able to vote online from noon March 19 through 5 p.m. April 1 at www.VoteACM.com.

"It's gonna be a tight race," Scotty tweeted to fans Thursday.

In December, Scotty was named New Artist of the Year at the American Country Awards. That honor also was selected by fans.

The 18-year-old Garner High School senior continues to keep a packed schedule. On Sunday, he'll perform at halftime at the Hoops 4 Hope game and breast cancer awareness event at N.C. State University's Reynolds Coliseum. The 5 p.m. game is sold out.

And this spring, he'll be the headliner concert at the N.C. Azalea Festival in Wilmington. Tickets for the April 13 concert can be ordered at www.ncazaleafestival.org