NEW YORK - While most singers would give their right arm to be mentioned in the same breath as jazz great Billie Holiday, for British newcomer Corinne Bailey Rae, the constant comparisons to Lady Day, while flattering, can get a little frustrating.

"There was a really big backlash in the British press when my album first came out," the 27-year-old said of her self-titled debut, recently released in the United States.

"Someone reviewed the whole thing and was like, 'This does not sound like Billie Holiday! Billie Holiday would never sing a song like this!' And I'm kind of like, well, you missed the point, really!"

The point is that while the Rae's sultry, scratchy vocals may bear an eerie resemblance to the jazz legend, the singer-songwriter has her own identity, and her own sound.

In March she became the first female British artist to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's U.K. album chart, and the album's worldwide sales already exceed 1 million copies, thanks to feel-good hits like the celebratory groove "Put Your Records On" and the sweet-nectared jam "Like a Star."

And now that she's conquered Europe, the United States is next on her hit list - or not.

"I don't really feel pressure to be a big success here," said the comely Rae, whose face is framed by an unruly mop of curls. "… My job is just to write and sing."

It's a job she's taken seriously since she was just a teen. At 14, Rae - already classically trained as a violinist - created a rock band called Helen, a four-girl, one-boy grunge band deeply influenced by rock gods Led Zeppelin.

Rae sang and played electric guitar with the group for more than 10 years. But when she took a job as a hat-checker at a local jazz-and-soul club, she discovered a passion for rhythm and blues.

"I would just sit and watch the bands all day," she recalled. "…I began to pine for that kind of music where I could express hope and warmth and more love things (rather than) aggression, angst and melancholy."

Still, she was dedicated to Helen - until the band lost a deal with a local record label due to personnel issues. It was then that Rae started shopping for a solo deal while recording what would turn out to be her debut album.

It wasn't long before Capitol Records snapped her up, and Rae released her debut in Europe in February. Almost overnight she watched her career skyrocket. Corporations ranging from Starbucks to AOL gave her music a big push, while she's drawn raves from the likes of People and Entertainment Weekly.

"I didn't expect my popularity to be a mainstream thing, 'cause I'd only ever been an underground artist," she said. "I thought, I might get to the equivalent of a jazz cafe in a few different places. I never thought I'd get this far."