LOS ANGELES (AP) – Scotty McCreery returns to “American Idol” this week. He will perform his new song, “Feelin’ It,” on Thursday’s results show.

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NASHVILLE (AP) – Mickey Gilley says his goal is “to play golf in the spring and piano in the fall.” Gilley tells Country Weekly magazine he still can’t play piano after suffering an accident while helping a friend move five years ago. Four of his vertebrae were crushed and he was temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. Gilley is playing shows again and says he’s more at the front as a singer now. He says he can’t button a shirt or fasten a belt buckle, but otherwise he’s back to normal.

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NASHVILLE (AP) – If you happen to see a vintage trailer topped with a crystal crown rolling down the highway, it belongs to Miranda Lambert and its name is Wanda. Lambert has topped her 1954 Flying Cloud Airstream with a six-foot-wide, three-foot-high crown. She named the trailer Wanda the Wanderer after her grandmother. Lambert is taking the Airstream to seven cities beginning with Los Angeles on May 20 so fans can hear a preview of her new album, “Platinum.” You can track Wanda’s progress and win prizes even if Wanda doesn’t come to your town at http://mirandalambert.com/platinumacrossamerica

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – LeeAnn Rimes says it’s an honor to be chosen to sing the national anthem at this year’s Indianapolis 500. The veteran country music star’s participation in the event was announced yesterday by race officials. Rimes has been on the country scene since she dropped her first national hit in 1996 – when she was just 13. May 25 will mark the race’s 98th running.
The pre-race events will also mark the last time actor and singer Jim Nabors says he will sing “Back Home Again In Indiana” at the track. Nabors is 83 – and has done the song nearly every year since 1972.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Lady Antebellum will kick off “Good Morning America’s” summer concert series. “GMA” will air a live concert every Friday starting with Lady A on May 23. Others who will perform throughout the summer include 50 Cent, Paramore, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Derulo, Keith Urban, Kings of Leon, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Robin Thicke and Brad Paisley.

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Shania Twainhas joined with cat conservation organization Panthera to launch Project Pardus, a worldwide effort to highlight the plight of and to protect leopards in the wild. “The image and spirit of the leopard is an inspiration to millions around the world, including myself,” says Twain. “That it is also the most oppressed of the big cats is almost unknown. I feel privileged to give back to a creature that depends for its future on what we do now to save it, and I urge the wider world to join Panthera and me in this mission.” More here.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – It was once a criminal case. Now, it’s a civil matter. Country singer Billy Currington is being sued by a Georgia tour boat captain who pressed criminal charges against him last year. Currington was sentenced to five years’ probation in September after pleading no contest to a charge of abuse of an elderly person. Prosecutors say he chased and threatened 70-year-old Charles Harvey Ferrelle after his boat passed Currington’s home on Tybee Island. The Savannah Morning News reports Ferrelle filed a lawsuit saying Currington mocked and libeled him on a fan Web site two days before his plea.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Authorities in North Carolina have arrested a suspect in a home invasion against “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery and his friends. Police say Mikkail Jamal Shaw, 19, is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy after he turned himself in on Tuesday night. Police are looking for other suspects in the case. Officers were called to an apartment about a mile from North Carolina State University early Monday. McCreery – a sophomore at the school – was visiting friends when three armed men broke in and took wallets, cash and electronics. No one was hurt. McCreery won Idol in 2011.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Police say country music singer Scotty McCreery was the victim of an early morning home invasion near the campus of North Carolina State University, where he is a student.

Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue says officers were called shortly before 2 a.m. Monday to an apartment about a mile from campus. Three suspects armed with guns are reported to have taken wallets, cash and electronic items.

Police say the 20-year-old McCreery was among the victims. No one was injured.

A native of nearby Garner, McCreery won TV’s “American Idol” in 2011 and was named best new artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards the next year. In addition to being a recording star and a pitchman for Bojangles’ Chicken ‘n Biscuits, McCreery is wrapping up his sophomore year of college.

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