Chrisette Michele's sophomore CD, Epiphany, recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this month, a big feat for the budding soul singer.

But the accomplishment came with a backhanded slap.

The same reports that mention her topping the charts also note that the 83,000 in sales for Epiphany were the lowest sales numbers ever for a CD debuting at No. 1 in the 18-year history of Soundscan.

Michele lets out a hearty laugh when that comes up during an interview.

''I'm so proud,'' Michele says. ``My first album (I Am in 2007) debuted at No. 29 and sold under 27,000 copies the first week. Eighty-three thousand copies is three times the amount the first time I came out. For someone else, 83,000 may not be a lot, but for me doing this underground neo-soul thing, this is incredible.''

Some thought Michele would fight an uphill battle with Ciara, whose Fantasy Ride CD was released the same day. That CD includes Ciara's hit song with Justin Timberlake, Love Sex Magic. Michele says how she fared against the more popular Ciara wasn't a concern.

''I'm just a kid from Long Island singing into a microphone and seeing what happens,'' she says. ``There was no part of my mind that participated in that experience.

``I just feel honored to be No. 1. God is always looking out, though he's looking out for everyone else, too. But the people spoke. ``& They went to the record store and they picked an album for themselves, for their auntie, and for their car. This is what they wanted to see on top.''

Michele calls Epiphany a breakup record about how hard it is to end a relationship, even while knowing there's ``something more in store for you.''

Helping her was the CD's executive producer, none other than singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. He also sang with Michele on What You Do.

''It's like two nerds on a science project who can never quite put the negative with the positive the way two batteries need to go together,'' she says of the two of them.

'Ne-Yo was very hands-on. Whatever sound was created was a sound we were next to each other creating, even for the production, with, `I want keyboards here or I want drums there.' It was a collaborative effort, not his record company sending me songs and seeing if I like them.''

Michele is spreading the word of Epiphany on a new tour with Anthony Hamilton (no dates are planned for South Florida).

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