When you've had millions of television viewers nationwide weigh your weekly right to remain on "American Idol," and you've endured verbal abuse from Simon Cowell on a regular basis, public reaction to your debut CD can't help but be a bit less scary.

Welcome to the continuing music career of Jasmine Trias.

"I'm an underdog in this market, too," said Trias, discussing her first full-length CD, "Jasmine Trias," debuting today in record stores across America. "It's bigger than 'American Idol.' The competition is even more cutthroat. ... I'm putting myself out there again to be judged ... by fans, by everybody. But I'm excited."

Trias, sitting on a plush couch in her family's Mililani home a couple of weeks ago, certainly looked relaxed. A fuzzy pair of house slippers she'd slipped on seemed to prove it. She leaned in closer to communicate her thoughts on entering yet another much-watched court of public opinion.

"Simon made me thick-skinned," she said, smiling confidently. "So with this album, I just want to go out there and show everybody what I can do. If you're going to criticize me for it, criticize me. Because Simon already criticized me and there's nothing worse than that."

Truth is, the notoriously opinionated Cowell might actually enjoy "Jasmine Trias," the CD.

The Hawai'i "Idol" finalist's debut is a slick yet playful 14-track collection of new-school R&B/pop confections. It bears traces of Trias' admitted career influence, Jennifer Lopez, and brassy young R&B vocalist JoJo.

The similarities are hardly surprising. Vincent Herbert — part of the CD's multitasking cadre of producer/writers — also brought bumping, beat-loving sass to first albums by JoJo and Destiny's Child. But "Jasmine Trias" sounds very different from Trias' middle-of-the-road "American Idol" song selections, or her lyrically and musically treacly "Flying Home" single (thankfully absent from this CD).

"This album is really me," said Trias. "I've always loved this kind of music. R&B is what I listen to. You probably didn't see that on 'American Idol' because every week we were stuck with a genre, so it was kind of hard for us to incorporate what we are into the songs. Especially me. I was just trying to find myself, too."

Trias didn't write any of the songs on her debut CD, but had a hand in selecting which ones made the final cut. Among them are a quartet of tracks written or produced by Herbert ("Excuses," "I Still Luv You," "Don't Go," "What U Do To Me"), the Natalie Cole cover that introduced her to "Idol" audiences ("Inseparable"), and a ballad penned by the ever ballad-prolific Diane Warren ("If Ever I See Heaven Again).

Post-"Idol," Trias mulled over a handful of recording contract offers including one from show owners 19 Entertainment. She settled on Los Angeles-based indie label ClockWork Entertainment after meeting with label head Debbie Hammond.

"I had a great vibe from her," said Trias. "She thought that I could really be something, considering that not a lot of Asian artists are really accepted in the (music) industry ... She really wants to break the mold of that, which is what I want, too.

"With an independent label, I was really free to do more; in general, with a bigger label you don't have much to say. I'm not saying 19 was bad. ... I just wasn't feelin' 19, you know? I mean, they're great people. ... But I didn't know if they really believed in me as much as Debbie did."

"Jasmine Trias" was recorded in Los Angeles over three weeks last April and May. Trias approved the cover concept, insert design and photo selection. An early single release, "Excuses," is already No. 1 in the Philippines, where Jas-mania has hardly abated since her "Idol"-run ended.

Trias will kick off national promotion of the CD here at home with in-store appearances all week and an open-to-the-public CD-launch party at Kapono's tonight. Mainland promotion starts later this month; concerts should follow statewide, nationwide and in the Philippines later this year.

Other projects Trias has penciled in over the next year include an acting gig in the Hilary-and-Haylie Duff flick "All-Girl Band" where she'll play a rebellious drummer, and a cameo in a Black-Eyed Peas video for the "Monkey Business" track "Bebot." A reality show Trias described as "a cross between 'America's Funniest Home Videos' and 'Punk'd,' " which she would co-host with Kenan Thompson (of Nickelodeon's "Kenan and Kel"), is being shopped to television networks.

Asked about her career goals, Trias said they amount to nothing less than "building an empire."

"I really want to get into acting and open up my own businesses," said Trias, digging into those fuzzy slippers. "I'd like to (start) a clothing line, a perfume line, a restaurant. I'd like a Filipino restaurant ... a fine-dining Filipino restaurant. A beauty salon."

Cautioned that she was sounding dangerously J. Lo-like, Trias smiled widely.

"She had to break in, too. And it was hard for her to break in. She's now representing for the Latinos. She was the one who kind of broke the mold a little bit," said Trias.

"There's no Asian (vocalist) that's huge out there. So I want to do that. I want to break that mold."

Told ya she wasn't scared.